MINISTER INSPECTS PROJECTS IN UPPER EAST (PAGE 22, MAY 3, 2010)

THE road network in the Bolgatanga Municipality and other major towns in the Upper East Region have been selected for major rehabilitation.
Besides, some roads in the Builsa District which are flood-prone and others in the Talensi-Nabdam and Bongo Districts will also be attended to.
The Minister of Roads and Highways, Mr Joe Kwashie Gidisu disclosed this when he briefed journalists in Bolgatanga after a two-day working visit to the region.
Mr Gidisu was in the region to learn at first hand the state of the various projects and also interacted with the contractors on issues concerning their completion.
Although the minister did not mention the amount involved, he said the package would facilitate business and economic activities between the regional capital and the districts. Already, the government has given approval for the provision of streetlights in the Bolgatanga Municipality ahead of the Golden Jubilee celebration of the region.
The tour took Mr Gidisu to the Bolgatanga Municipality, Bongo, Kassena-Nankana East, Kassena-Nankana West, Builsa and Talensi Nabdam districts where he inspected a number of urban and feeder roads.
Some of the projects included the Sandema-Gbedema Road, Gbedema-Kanjarga-Fumbisi as well as the Fumbisis Uwasi-Kandema roads. Others were the Bongo-Bolgatanga Road, as well as the Paga-Sirigu stretch and the Merigu-Nayagnia-Navrongo and the Kandiga–Sirigu roads.
At Nayagnia, the minister and his team visited the project site of the construction of a steel bridge across a river by Messrs Adams Mahama Construction Limited.
The Managing Director of the company, Mr Adams Mahama gave the assurance that work which started in March, 2010, would be completed in May, this year to link the community, which is usually cut off during the raining season, to other areas.
In the Talensi-Nabdam District, the Minister also inspected work on the Winkongo-Tongo Road as well as the road leading to Pelungu.
At Tongo, Mr Gidisu bemoaned the poor road network in the district and promised to investigate the cause of the delay of most of the roads.
He, however, warned that the government would not hesitate to terminate any contracts which had delayed, repackage them and re-award them to more competent contractors.
The Upper East Regional Minister, Mr Mark Woyongo, advised the contractors to honour their deadlines in order not to incur extra cost for the government.
He stressed the need for effective supervision by the appropriate agencies to ensure that the right thing was done.