Katapei Number One (Ashanti Region) 19 March '99

The chief and people of Katapei Number One and Two in the Ahafo-Ano North district of Ashanti have appealed to the government to terminate a road contract awarded to Five/N- Born Services Limited based in Kumasi. The contract is for the rehabilitation of the five-kilometre road linking the two towns to the main Tepa-Suponso road. The chief, Nana Kwabena Nkrumah, Mr Philip Forkuo Mensah and Mr Oppong Appau, assembly members, made the appeal when Alhaji M.B. Al-Hassan, the Ahafo-Ano North District Co- ordinating Director, visited the twin towns. The project which is under the Agricultural Sector Investment Project (ASIP) was awarded in 1994 at the cost of 74 million cedis and the assembly has paid its part of 30 million cedis to the contractor. They told the District Co-ordinating Director that the deplorable nature of the road was taking a toll on their socio-economic activities and that drivers plying the route have threatened to stop when the rains set in. They said since the contractor has shown gross dereliction of duty, the government should re-award the contract to a contractor who will execute it on time. Alhaji Al-Hassan assured them that the government was committed to improving the lot of the rural people and that the matter would be dealt with.