80% of contractors to be paid by November — Veep

By next month, the government would have paid up debts owed 80 per cent of road contractors to ensure the continuation of work on stalled projects, the Vice-President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, has hinted.

He said the numerous complaints of bad roads would soon be a thing of the past as the issue was of great concern to the President, and the government was focused on fixing the deplorable roads across the country.

“Measures have been put in place to pay contractors for work to resume on the roads,” he assured.

Dr Bawumia, who was speaking at a grand durbar of the 2019 celebration of the Yam Festival of the people of Klefe in Ho in the Volta Region, said: “I tell you that between this month and November next month, 80 per cent of all road contractors will be paid. And for the remaining 20 per cent, between this month and next month, you will see that they will receive 40 per cent of what we owe.”

The Vice-President, who observed that one of the major problems of the people of the Volta Region was the lack of good roads, however, expressed shock at the level of bad roads in the region, chastising the National Democratic Congress (NDC) for doing little for the people despite their constant reference to the region as their ‘World Bank’.

Bad roads

“When you come to the Volta Region, you will get a big shock about the bad state of the roads. You will get a big shock because for eight years of a government, not one road was completed,” Dr Bawumia stated.

He said all the roads the Mahama administration had boasted of was only in their ‘Green Book’ and not a reality on the ground, assuring the people that work on certain roads in the region would begin before the year ended, adding: “This month we will cut the sod for the Hohoe-Jasikan-Dodo Pepesu road.”

He called on the people to eschew tribal politics and reject politicians who thrived on tribal politics but rather support politicians who focused on ‘bread and butter issues’.

National politics, he said, must demonstrate unity of purpose, unity in diversity and in the contest of ideas, leading to the triumph of superior solutions that address many socio-economic challenges.

Festivals and development

Dr Bawumia posited that festivals must not only be for merrymaking and family reunions but must become platforms for the cross fertilisation of developmental ideas for communities.

This year’s Klefe Yam Festival, on the theme: “Moving Forward in Unity for Development”, was to raise a fund of GH¢350,000 to improve the facilities at the Klefe Community Health Centre to meet the health delivery requirements of the people.

The project will cover the digitisation of the centre, equipment for the laboratory, completion of a dispensary and records unit, and the construction of a 10-bed maternity ward.

The Vice-President assured the people of Klefe of the government’s support from the GH¢1 million per constituency fund to complete the health centre.

Chief’s appeal

The Paramount Chief of the Klefe Traditional Area, Togbe Koku Dzaga XI, appealed to the government to urgently consider the absorption of the Klefe Technical Vocational School into the national stream and curricula to provide the space, facilities and personnel for the needed skills development of the students.

He commended the government for its development policies and further expressed appreciation for the awarding of Klefe town roads, the one-kilometre road linking Klefe Dome and Ziavi Dzogbe, and the Demete Akrofu roads for construction.

The Member of Parliament for Ho Central, Mr Benjamin Kpodo, reminded the people of the district assembly elections and the referendum in December, calling for a massive vote for yes to amend Article 55(3) of the Constitution to allow partisan politics at the local level.