Fixing of Koforidua Roads Progressing Day & Night

Major inner-city roads in Koforidua, under the New Juaben South municipality, in the Eastern Region, which have been in a deplorable state, are receiving massive facelift, with work progressing steadily, contrary to reports that construction work has stalled.

The Anchor, over the weekend, observed asphalt overlay ongoing on deteriorating roads surfaces in some communities, with contractors at site, working day and night to ensure the completion of the work on time.

This paper is reliably informed, the ongoing 32km asphalt overlay and rehabilitation project is being executed by local contractors, with a proven track records, to ensure that the work is done well to give the residential and commercial areas a facelift.

According to information, more than 80 percent of all town roads have been given out on contracts for fixing since last year, including ancillary, auxiliary and tributary roads under the municipality.

Bulk of the work, which is expected to be completed this year, will bring a great relief to residents in areas, such as Apenkwa, Oyoko, Agbogri, Nyamekrom, Monrovia, Asokore, Akwaadum, Mpaem, Simpoa Miensa, Zongo, the Koforidua Technical University area and its adjoining communities.

This comes in the wake of recent agitation by a group of residents calling itself the Koforidua Development Advocates (KDA), who went on a demonstration over the deplorable state of some roads in the Eastern Regional capital.

But when contacted, the Member of Parliament (MP) for New Juaben South, Michael Okyere Baafi, said the ongoing rehabilitation works are evidence of his commitment to the people of working to promote their interest.

According to him, within the last two and half years of his tenure in office as MP a lot has been achieved, while more is in the offing and, therefore, called for calm and patience to fix the problems one after another.

Mr. Okyere Baafi, who is also a deputy minister of Trade and Industry, noted that, ‘’As MP and by dint of hard work, I have personally lobbied for the construction of roads in Nyamekrom, Magazine and Trom, which roads were not initially part of Government’s initial earmarked projects for the constituency. But as this year has been declared the year of roads, my humble plea was graciously acceded to and work has started on these otherwise abandoned roads.”

The MP together with some constituents inspecting portions of the roads during the asphalt overlay

He said that “it is important to note that I have been consistently advocating for the government to prioritize the rehabilitation of Koforidua roads, and I have been actively engaging with constituents on this matter through various media engagements.”

On the issue of street and traffic lights, the MP said, “For ages, the traffic lights have not been functioning, and motorists in my constituency, especially commercial drivers, have been consistently appealing to me to restore the traffic lights.”

According to him, ‘’As an MP, my call is to respond to the needs of my constituents as soon as practicable. I, therefore, purchased control boards after technical advice and stood on my feet for hours to ensure that technicians worked tirelessly to restore the traffic lights. Today, we are happy to see that all the main traffic lights in the New Juaben South Municipality have been fixed.’’

MP Outlines Achievements

Touching on achievements, Okyere Baafi said within two and half years saw the construction of over a 50-bed capacity hospital at Nyamekrom, over 50 capacity hospital at Zongo, construction of the Koforidua multi-purpose stadium and redevelopment of Jackson Park.

He mentioned that, as a first-time legislator, he secured construction of a new police post at the Koforidua Technical University campus, built an event center at Old Estate, bought a Hearse for the Muslim communities in NJSC, constructed two AstroTurfs – one at Sarkodie M/A School Park Old Estate and another one at Methodist School Park, Betom.

That is not all, he also listed construction of the Anglican Basic School (Betom), several jobs and employment opportunities were created for the youths through S3MANHYIA Michael Okyere Baafi (MOB), secured scholarships for both local and foreign students, constructed an ultra-modern district court, constructed a new Municipal Assembly Block, Construction of Classroom and dormitory blocks for the Koforidua Senior High Technical School, New Juaben SHS and Oti Boateng SHS.

Next Projects

The MP told The Anchor, there are many projects in the offing and will soon commence the cementing of the Agatha market, the construction of Smart Schools (KG) and the construction of a Fire Service Municipal office for NJSC, among others.

Source: Anchorghana.com