..Road project sparks street protest plans

RESIDENTS OF six communities along the 11.2 kilometre stretch La Sab Hotel junction -Yabi road are angered by what they described as blatant lies by the Ashanti regional Minister, Mr. Emmanuel Kofi Asamoah Owusu Ansah to the effect that the road network from La Sab Hotel junction, commonly known as Agric Junction to Yabi, among others, has benefited from a bitumen surface project by the Department of Feeder Roads.

The communities are Kokode, Nzema, Kromoase, Akyeremade, Kwanwoman and Yabi, all in the Bosomtwe-Atwima-Kwanwoma district of Ashanti.

The aggrieved constituents are contemplating protesting against the utterance by the Regional Minister which they regard as a deliberate attempt to stifle development in the area.

The position of residents in those communities are in reaction to remarks by the Minister last Thursday December 28, 2006 during a meeting of the reconstituted Regional Co-ordinating Council (RCC) that the Ghana Highway Authority (GHA), Urban Roads and the Department of Feeder Roads had done tremendously well to improve the road networks in the region.

Owusu Ansah also made pronouncements to the effect that the department of Feeder Roads had put bitumen on a number of Feeder roads in the region to make them last longer.

“For instance, the following communities have benefited from bitumen surface road projects “ he said and went ahead to mention them as “ Abono-Adwafo, La Sab Junction-Yabi, Afari-Nerebehi, Beposo-Wioso, Maakro Atwidie and Bonwire-Bamang”.

The regional Minister pointed also to the construction of the Asafo-UTC Interchange project as one of the major road networks in the region.

He told the Council that in spite of the delays the Asafo project was “nearing completion” amid applause.

But the Minister’s claim particularly in the case of La Sab Junction –Yabi road turned out to be an untruth as the said road has not benefited from any bitumen project.

Assembly member for Yabi/Akosomo, Mr. Solomon Owusu Antwi told The Chronicle that he is in touch with his colleagues, Messrs, Isaac Agyemang Duah and James Kofi Karikari, assembly members for Kwanwoma-Akyeremadi-Behenase and Kromoase-Aburaso electoral areas respectively, to petition the department of Feeder Roads to do something about the deplorable condition of the road.

He said that the last time he personally consulted Dr. Ampadu of the department was three months ago when the Feeder Roads Director informed him (assembly member) that a proposal had been forwarded to Accra, and he promised to tackle it (road) as soon as funds were made available.

He complained also about the DCE’s problem with the assemblyman which has influenced him to be lackadaisical about development at Yabi so long as he (Owusu Antwi) remained the assembly member.

The anger of the communities is premised on the fact that the Regional Director of Feeder Roads, Dr. Ampadu and the District Chief Executive for Bosomtwe-Atwima-Kwanwoma, Mr. Bright Addai Munumkum who were present at the said meeting did not restrain the Regional minister but allowed him to lie about the project.

According to the complainants, it was a deliberate attempt to score political points at the expense of the development of the area and vowed to protest against any such moves by the government.

A research by this paper indicated that the last time this road saw a major rehabilitation was 10 years ago.

With the influence of Mrs. Joana Appiah Dwemoh, then Deputy Regional Minister and a native of Yabi, the road was awarded on contract to Boasiako Construction under the National Democratic Congress (NDC) regime. Nobody could complain about the shoddy work by the contractor, Mr. P. E. K. Antwi Boasiako, the then regional chairman of the NDC. The road has since deteriorated.

An attempt by the president’s pal, Nana Kwasi Boadu, popularly known as Millennium Plaza and chief of Nzema, to rehabilitate portions of the said road network at Nzema has not saved the situation.

A fact-finding ride on the said road by The Chronicle last Tuesday indicated that the whole stretch was bumpy and dusty from the Sab junction to Yabi.

From our visit, it appears that the regional Minister who is not from the area may have mistaken the road in question for that of Agric Junction-Wamase, which had been tarred recently.

The NPP Regional chairman, Mr. Robert Yaw Owusu Amankwah has registered his protest over the condition of the road and promised to take it up at the party level to correct the situation.