Kwesi Amoako-Atta at the site
A private citizen is under pressure from the Tema Metropolitan Assembly (TMA) and Ministry of Roads & Highways following the construction of a road at Community 12 in Tema without approval.
The resident purportedly blocked a stretch of road in the area, causing inconvenience to residents, although the stretch has been awarded on contract.
Last Wednesday, the Minister of Roads & Highways, Kwesi Amoako Atta, visited the site after complaints lodged by some residents and stopped the construction work.
The minister further ordered him to halt all activities, serving a notice to surcharge the resident for the amount the state might waste in salvaging the road before handing over the site to the contractor, First Sky Construction.
He expressed worry about the wanton disrespect for laws in the country.
Speaking on the matter, Felix Nii Anang-La, Metropolitan Chief Executive (MCE) of Tema, explained that his outfit’s attention was drawn to the construction of a pavement road by the resident.
According to him, “While the move could easily be seen as a laudable gesture, the wanton disregard for institutional regulations leaves much to be desired. First and foremost, the materials used are best suited for pedestrian walkway, causing undulating surfaces from vehicular traffic. When we got in, we realised it was a private man doing his own thing without even respect to the metropolitan assembly, not even the Urban Road Department. What the gentleman was doing, nobody is aware and such thing should not be tolerated in this country.
“Since Monday, I’ve been inviting the gentleman to my office. Every time, he will be telling me I will be there in an hour’s time, give me five hours and I will be there. Yesterday, I was trying to reach him and his phones are not going through. This morning, I tried and is like he is not respecting anybody and for that matter I have to take action and the law must take its course because we are in a country governed by laws and we have to respect the laws,” he stated.
He reiterated that the road had been awarded on contract to First Sky Construction but was being obstructed by the private citizen.
“A project of this magnitude requires consultation with various institutions, amongst them are Works Engineering Department of the TMA, Department of Urban Roads and Ministry of Roads & Highways. I personally reached out to this gentleman in an attempt to formalise the proposal so as to meet the terms and conditions of his gesture, but to no avail,” Mr. Anang-La bemoaned.
The MCE added that the legitimate contractor would thereby take over the construction of the road.
From Vincent Kubi, Tema