WESTERN REGION ROADS TO BE REPAIRED (PAGE 42, NOV 17, 2010)

THE Western Regional Minister, Mr Paul Evans Aidoo, has assured the people in the Sefwi area that the government is making frantic efforts to reconstruct the Benchimaa Junction-Oseikojokrom trunk road to facilitate the movement of people and carting of agricultural produce from the area to the marking centres.
He said the government had secured a loan facility for the construction of the first 43-kilometres of the road under the first phase of the project.
Mr Aidoo said the proposal for the construction of the road was to be submitted to cabinet for discussion after which it would be sent to Parliament for approval.
He said after Parliamentary approval, the project would be advertised for contractors to show interest after which it would go through valuation and bidding and subsequently awarded on contract.
Mr Aidoo announced this when he paid separate courtesy calls on the chiefs and elders of Elluokrom, Asuontaa, Adjoafua, Kwamebikrom, Debiso, Essam, Oseikojokrom and Yawmatwa as part of his four-day official visit to the Bia District.
The chiefs had complained bitterly about the poor road network in the district, particularly the Benchimaa-Oseikojokrom trunk road which is in very deplorable state.
It was detected during inspection tour that most of the bailey bridges on the road, especially the one spanning River Benchimaa had virtually caved in making it difficult for the carting of cocoa, timber, food stuffs to the marketing centres and the movement of people.
Some farmers in the district were seen using donkeys for the carting of cocoa to the buying centres since drivers found it very difficult to use the roads as a result of its poor condition, especially during the current rainy season.
Mr Aidoo said regular routine maintenance would be carried out to make the road motorable before the actual reconstruction started.
He said the government was seeking another loan for the reconstruction of the second phase of the Benchimaa Junction-Oseikojokrom road.
According to him, another facility was being sought from the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) for the construction of cocoa roads in the district.
Mr Aidoo stated that some roads in the region, such as Samreboi-Prestea and Dadieso-Africa ones, had been rendered impassable as a result of the continuous heavy rains.
He said the reconstruction of the Benchimaa Junction-Oseikojokrom road would open up the area for rapid socio-economic development, stressing that the government would not disappoint the Sefwi people.
The Regional Minister recognised that the people in the Sefwi area had lent their unflinching support for the National Democratic Congress (NDC) government even when it was in opposition by helping the party to regain power.
He said the upward review of the producer price of cocoa was to discourage smuggling of the commodity to the neighbouring countries, and therefore, urged the cocoa farmers to assist the government to achieve that objective.
The chief of Elluokrom, Nana Ahoin Panyini, commended the government for increasing the producer price of cocoa, and also praised it for its policies and programmes towards the development of the country.
He appealed to the government to re-demarcate the Bia District since it was very large for effective and efficient administration.
Nana Panyini also called for the construction of the drainage system to check erosion in the town.
The chief of Asuontaa, Nana Kojo Samah, appealed to the government for the provision of a school, a market, potable water and a health post.
At Essam, the chief Nana Baffour Ennin expressed concern about the slow down of many development projects which were started some years back and called for their reactivation.
He mentioned the construction of the district hospital which was not progressing as expected.
Nana Ennin said the construction of the hospital was very important since most of the people in the district were farmers, who had to seek medical attention at either Sefwi Asafo or Dormaa Ahenkro in the Brong Ahafo Region.
He mentioned the other projects as the Jubilee school, Essam market and the Essam-Kwamebikrom road.