The Central Regional Minister, Justina Marigold Assan, has blamed road contractors for the recent increase in teenage pregnancies in his jurisdiction.

Justina Marigold Assan urged the contractors in the Central Region to concentrate on their core duties, which are to build the roads they are assigned and stop chasing teenage girls.

The Central Regional Minister made this comment during a sod-cutting ceremony for construction works to begin on the 3.7-kilometre Kasoa Ofaakor-Jei River road in the Awutu Senya East Municipality.

“I know you won’t be happy about what I’m about to say, but please, we beg you, when you start your work, please stay away from the teenage girls in this area. We don’t want to come next year to commission the road and hear that someone’s teenager is pregnant and one of you is responsible.”

“If something like that happens, I will make sure that person is arrested. To those coming to work on this project, if you can’t handle the loneliness, please bring your wife or look for an older person to be with and not go after a teenager. If that happens, we will surely deal with you,” she said as it aired on Rainbow Radio Accra.

The construction projects consist of the construction of the Ofaakor-Jei River road with side drains and culvert, the construction of the proposed triple 3.0m x 3.0m box culvert and approach road at Akweley Kasoa, and the construction of 8500 sq m of external pavement works with precast concrete paver blocks for Kasoa Old Market.

The project, which is under the World Bank Ghana Secondary Cities Support Programme, is expected to be completed in 12 months.