Tamale, May 11, GNA - Land surveyors and property owners who have acquired portions of land along the ongoing Tamale storm water drainage have been directed to remove all pillars erected beside the project. Alhaji Abubakar Saddique Boniface, the Northern Regional Minister, gave the directive in Tamale on Tuesday when he inspected ongoing drainage projects in the Metropolis.

Alhaji Iddrisu Adam, the acting Metropolitan Chief Executive, and some officials of Arab Contractors, the project engineers, accompanied the minister during the inspection tour.

The Minister asked those who were in charge of the allocation of land around the area to leave a distance of between 10 and 20 metres from the main drainage to avert any flooding in the event of a spill over. He advised those who have bought land near the project site to go back to their original owners for re-demarcation, warning that any construction work close to the project would be demolished.

The project, which cost eight billion cedis, would be completed by June and it is expected to end the perennial flooding in parts of the Metropolis.

Mr Hazem Elshikh, the Project Manager, complained of delays in payment for work and pleaded with the Regional Minister to ensure the timely release of funds for the project.

Mr Elshikh pledged to offer 10 refuse containers for use by residents around the project site to prevent the dumping of waste into the drains. The Minister also visited the Sakasaka, Nyanshegu, Tishegu and Polga Fong drainage projects, all in the Tamale.

Alhaji Boniface later toured the landfill site/septic treatment facility at Taha/Kamina.

The International Development Association and the government of Ghana are funding the biological treatment facility that started two years ago and designed to be the dumping site for all faecal matter in the Metropolis.

The Minister was satisfied with the work done on the projects and expressed optimism that the engineers could finish the work before the rains set in.