Lawra, Sept 12, GNA - Vice president Aliu Mahama on Monday asked the authorities of the Architectural and Engineering Services limited (AESL) to step up their supervision of government development projects to curb delays and shoddy works being carried out by some contractors. Referring particularly to rehabilitation and upgrading works at the Lawra Secondary School being carried out by Messrs Barbissoti and Sons and Saint Francis Girls' Secondary at Jirapa by one Latif Moomin, he tasked the AESL to make sure that the contractors reverse all sub-standard jobs they have executed.

Vice President Mahama, an engineer, pointed out the poor casting of concrete, window frames and other constructional defects when he inspected some projects in the Upper West Region to round-up his five-day tour of the region.

The projects included the 13.3 billion-cedis Nandom Hamile roads, the 4.7 billion-cedi girls' dormitory and library at the Saint Francis Girls' Secondary School and a 5.8 billion-cedi dormitory and administrative blocks for the Lawra Secondary School. Vice President Mahama also inspected a 233 million-cedi day care center and a district assembly complex and a police station at Gwollu, capital of the new Sissala West District.

He said contractors must ensure good quality work and not only be interested in collecting money.

Addressing enthusiastic supporters of the ruling New Patriotic Party at Jirapa who besieged the girls' secondary school to welcome him, he asked them to take advantage of the micro-credit scheme launched by President John Agyekum Kufuor last week.

"You must package your projects to be able to attract loans ranging from five million to 250 million cedis," he said.

During an interaction with the regent of Lawra, Ana Charles Tierle Karbo, he said the government would do all in its power to bring a measure of prosperity to the area.

Vice President Mahama said the government would re-award the contract for the rehabilitation of the Lawra market area since the contractor working on the project had not lived up to expectation. Naa Karbo appealed to the government to improve the Wa/ Nadowli/ Babille/Nandom roads.

Vice president Mahama later interacted with the chiefs and people of the Nandom, Gwollu and Tumu Traditional areas and expressed the need for every Ghanaian to embrace the national health insurance scheme (NHIS). He said 15 additional buses from the Metro-Mass Transport Service would be brought to the region to augment the seven buses already in use.

He said works on the Tinga/ Bamboi road would start in November. A number of water projects would be completed in some major towns to ensure the continuous supply of potable water to the people. Dr Puobe Chiir, the Nandom Naa, lauded the NHIS as a timely intervention to improve on the delivery of health services in the area and said "almost 99 per cent of the people in the traditional area have embraced the scheme".