Volta ‘concerned citizens’ demand answers to stalled projects

A group calling itself the Concerned Citizens of Volta last Thur s day met the Volta Regional Minister, Dr Archibald Letsa, to enquire about the state of some infrastructural projects that had stalled in the region.

The group, led by the convenor, Mr Vincent Hodoli, popularly known as ‘Torgodomakpa,’ said their purpose for meeting the minister was to find out the plans the government had for the completion of the projects, some of which had been discontinued or were moving at a snail’s pace.

Among the projects are the Eastern Corridor and the Sokode-Ho Dual Carriage roads, the University of Health and Allied Sciences (UHAS) junction bypass and the Ho-Accra road resurfacing.

Others are the development of a permanent campus for UHAS, the Ho Central Market redevelopment, the Regional Library project, started under the Kufuor government and the construction of a theatre for the Centre for National Culture in Ho.

The group also raised concerns over the proposed harbour in Keta and the reconstruction of the deteriorated Ho-Denu road, as well as the implementation of the government’s flagship programmes in the region.

Response

Reacting to the concerns of the group, Dr Letsa expressed the commitment of the government to complete all inherited projects for the benefit of all citizens.

“Governance is a continuous process, that’s why we haven’t started any major infrastructural project in our first year, because we want to ensure the completion of all these inherited projects,” the regional minister stated.

He, however, attributed the stalled road projects in the region to the lack of funds and indicated that contractors working on sections of the Eastern corridor road and the Sokode-Ho dual carriage projects, for instance, had unpaid certificates, a situation which forced them to abandon the projects.

The minister added that the sources of funding such as the Consolidated Fund and the Ghana Cocoa Board were overstretched, resulting in the unpleasant situation.

Dr Letsa indicated, however, that the government was exploring external funding options to complete the roads, especially the Eastern corridor, which served as a major link to the northern part of the country.

With regard to the airport project, he said, the contractor was almost done with the $25 million facility, for which full payment had been made, adding that the project would be completed in a few months.

On the redevelopment of the Ho Central Market, Dr Letsa noted that the project would soon resume following the resolution of some lawsuits over the allocation of stalls in the market.