Former President Jerry John Rawlings has lauded the Minister for Roads and Highways, Kwesi Amoako-Atta for ordering the arrest of a foreign contractor who encroached a road with his activities, ABC News has gathered.

According to the former President, the Minister deserves commendation for his intervention to halt the encroachment to the road corridor through the activities of the contractor which has caused discomfort for road users and residents.

In a Twitter post, former President Jerry John Rawlings noted that “the Minister for Roads and Highways Kwesi Amoako Atta deserves commendation for his intervention to stop the brazen encroachment on a road corridor by a construction firm at the Airport Residential Area.”

He further urged the Roads and the Works and Housing Ministries to extend this operation to check what he describes as a wanton abuse of Ghana’s building laws and also the illicit issuance of permits by corrupt officials whom he avers are trampling on the master plan for Ghana’s towns and cities.

He added that “I also call for proper checks on the illegal and dangerous speed ramps, some of which are a nuisance and in many instances badly constructed, damaging to vehicles, weakening their joints and suspensions, leading to serious accidents.”

“The Minister and sector colleagues in the Works and Housing Ministry need to go beyond this and check the wanton abuse of our building laws with the illicit issuance of permits by corrupt officials with the officials with little regard for the master-plan for our towns and cities”, portions of the Twitter post read.

The Minister led the team to demolish a concrete barricade erected by some Turkish developers who are putting up a 22-storey building at the Airport Residential Area.

He also called for the arrest of the contractor working on the project.

The Minister and colleagues in the Works and Housing Ministry need to go beyond this and check the wanton abuse of our building laws with the illicit issuance of permits by corrupt officials with little regard for the master-plan for our towns and cities... pic.twitter.com/lgytLjngTW

— Jerry John Rawlings (@officeofJJR) December 19, 2019