Outgoing President John Mahama says he has served Ghana with the best of intentions, prioritizing the interest of the citizens in his actions.
He said when he assumed office there was mass dissatisfaction of Ghanaians with the road network in the country and he dedicated much of his attention to fixing it.
“Many hours sitting in traffic caused frustration and discomfort for urban commuters. Poor feeder roads and pothole-riddled highways increased maintenance cost for drivers and in-turn led to increased fares and transport charges for goods,” he noted.
He said his vision was to complete road projects he inherited from the erstwhile President John Kufuor’s government namely Achimota-Ofankor, Awoshie-Pokuase, Sofo line, and the Tetteh Quarshie-Achimota roads among others.
President Mahama said his government fixed those roads and constructed others such as the Kwame Nkrumah Interchange, Airport hills/Burma Camp network of roads and completed the 37- El Wak-Trade fair road.
He continued with the Eastern Corridor Road Project, started the Kasoa Interchange, Tema motorway roundabout decongestion project, and a new bridge from flower pot roundabout on the Spintex Road over the Accra- Tema motorway into East Legon.
He, however, noted there remains a lot to be done. He cited the Obetsebi Lamptey interchange, the Pokuase interchange, and Motorway expansion project among others that are ready to commence.
But delivering his final State of the Nations Address in Parliament, Thursday, the President said Ghana can now boast of a good road network in West Africa because of the “most massive investments in the road sector.”
The “Eastern corridor road project, asphalt overlay of roads in Regional and District capitals and massive investments in cocoa roads across the country,” he said, have opened up our country significantly.
The President also touched on the transport sector which he said has been marked with improvement under his administration.
“Incentives such as reduction in cost of aviation fuel, improved airport infrastructure has seen a massive increase in both domestic and international travel,” he said.
He added that the ongoing construction of the Terminal 3 project at the Kotoka International Airport (KIA) is progressing fast and when completed would make “Accra the most favoured aviation destination in West Africa.”
President Mahama was convinced the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) christened “Aayalolo” would create “better comfort for urban communters” in the country.
He promised the start of the Tema-Akosombo line which said would maximise the use of the Volta Lake Transport Company for moving cargo to land-locked Sahel countries upriver to Buipe in the Northern Region.
“Work on the expansion of our two maritime ports at Takoradi and Tema are ongoing and would lead to faster turn-around times for ships and larger throughput cargo volumes,” he said.
Considering the achievements within the last four years, President Mahama said the nation is better than it was some years past.
