Okere Roads On Course

Joe Gidisu and Dan Botwe

THE REHABILITAION of the Okere Constituency roads in the Eastern region, being spearheaded by the Member of Parliament for the area, Dan Botwe, is said to be on course.

Minister for Roads and Highways, Joe Gidisu, on Friday gave assurance to Dan Botwe that a number of roads in the Okere constituency would be rehabilitated as soon as funds were available.

The Okere MP has been battling the Minister for Roads and Highways for the rehabilitation of roads in his constituency, which he indicated had been in deplorable condition, causing problems for motorists and other commuters.

Reiterating the call for the rehabilitation of the roads, Dan Botwe, last Friday, posed a question to Joe Gidisu as to when work on the Koforidua-Ntroman, Sikoko-Afiafi-Koforidua and Agogo-Kyekyeku corridors would commence.

Answering the question, the Roads and Highways Minister acknowledged that the tarred section of the 3km-road from Koforidua to Obuortabiri was in poor condition.

He indicated that the section of the 2.5km-road from Obuortabiri to Ntroman was a gravel-surfaced road which was in fair condition.

Joe Gidisu said the major constraint in his outfit was the absence of adequate resources to upgrade those roads to the desired standards.

He stated however that the engineering studies would be carried out on the road in the last quarter of this year.

The minister added that depending on the outcome of the studies, the road shall be considered for rehabilitation in the ministry’s programme next year.

However, routine maintenance, he pointed out, would be carried out this year.

Touching on the 5.9km Sikoko-Afiafi-Koforidua road, Joe Gidisu indicated that it was a gravel-surfaced road which was in good condition.

According to him, the Akwapim North District Assembly had carried out spot improvement works on the road under the Community Based Rural Development Project in 2011.

He said routine maintenance works would be carried out on the road as part of the 2012 maintenance programme, stressing that this would be repeated annually until funds were available to give it bituminous surfacing.

Regarding the Agogo-Kyekyeku road, Joe Gidisu indicated it was not part of the Department of Feeder Roads classified networks of the Eastern region.

He urged the relevant district assembly to liaise with the Department of Feeder Roads for the future development of the track into a road.

 By Awudu Mahama