Bamboi (N/R), July 6, GNA - Vice President Alhaji Aliu Mahama has told the contractor working on the 53-kilometre Tinga-Bamboi portion of the Wa/Bamboi road to do a good job and to complete it early to enhance the economic activities of the people.

He said the government attached importance to quality roads because a good road network was one of the surest ways of helping to reduce poverty.

Vice President Mahama said this when he made a stopover at Bamboi to inspect 21.5 million Ghana Cedi road project while on his way to the Upper West Region on Thursday.

He said when completed the road would impact positively on lives of the people as it would facilitate the movement of goods and people from the region to the southern parts of the country. "The people of the Northern and Upper West regions have suffered in the past because of the bad nature of the road. This project means a lot to them and we must not relent but to redouble our efforts to complete the project on schedule and of good quality". Nana Opoku, Project Coordinator, said work on the project was moving 17 percent faster than its 15 percent scheduled plan. At a meeting with the chiefs and people of Bamboi, Vice President Mahama told them that Bamboi would be connected to the national electricity grid to promote cottage industry.

"Darkness is sickness and sooner than later your town would be booming with economic activities and the school children would also have access to light to enhance their studies", he said. He assured the people of Bamboi that their request for a senior secondary school and the upgrading of the health centre to a hospital would be channelled to the appropriate ministries for consideration. On the Bui Dam, Vice President Mahama said work would start soon and called for the cooperation and support of the people for its smooth take-off.

Vice President Mahama appealed to the people of Bamboi, Bole, Sawla and Tuna, where he paid courtesy calls on the chiefs, to embrace the National Health Insurance Scheme.

The Regent of Bamboi, Nana Adama Salia, commended the government for providing schools, potable water and roads to the people. At Bole the Bolewura Amankwa Gbeadese II called on the government to consider renaming the Bole and Sawla-Tuna-Kalba districts as Bole South and Bole North districts because the two districts belong to one traditional area.