One of the projects under construction
Newly created districts and some selected old ones in the northern parts are among the beneficiaries of the government’s numerous infrastructure programmes across the country.
A tour by a team of Members of Parliament (MPs) on the Local Government Committee of Parliament revealed work in progress of various infrastructure projects such as administrative complex blocks, court buildings, bungalows for civil and public servants as well as magistrates and judges at various stages of completion in the Savannah, Northern, North East and Upper East regions.
Some of the districts benefitting are Nanton, North East Gonja, West Gonja, Bunkpurugu-Nakpanduri, East Mamprusi, West Mamprusi, Yunyoo-Nasuan, Bongo, Kassena Nankana West, Bolgatanga East, Garu and Tempane.
Also under construction are no.1-3 storey administration blocks for the North East Regional Coordinating Council (RCC) and the Savannah RCC to house the regional ministers and other civil servants in administering the regions.
The jumpstarting of new infrastructure developments in the remote and impoverished northern belt, funded by the District Assemblies Common Fund, signals the Akufo-Addo administration’s intent to bolster the frontier of the local economy to create opportunities and deepen decentralisation.
The projects are said to be the most ambitious infrastructure initiative to be embarked upon by the government, which are aimed at opening up the country for investments, and the government is wasting no time to get the job done fast.
Led by the MP for Ahafo-Ano North, Suleman Sanid, the team was apprised with the details of the various projects, some of which were said to have been initiated in 2017.
At Damongo, the capital of the Savannah Region, the no. 1 – 3 storey administration block, which is being constructed by M/S Dagbene Borns Limited and costing GH¢17.410 million, is nearing completion.
Quality Control Officer of the Architectural & Engineering Services Limited (AESL), Charles Abachingsa, said the contract was awarded on October 14, 2019 but the construction has suffered some delays since work started on November 19, 2019.
“The project is a 12-calendar month which means the contractor should have handed over on November 25, 2020, but he was not able to meet the schedule date,” he told the parliamentary delegation.
Leader of the parliamentary team, Suleman Sanid, who doubles as the Vice Chairman of the Local Government Committee, expressed his satisfaction with ongoing district and regional projects in the area.
Among the team were the MP for Banda and Deputy Minority Whip, Ahmed Ibrahim; Garu MP, Albert Akuka Alalzuuga; MP for Sene East, Dominic Napare; and the Clerk to the Local Government Committee, Camillo.
They were assured that some of the projects that could not be done in 2020 would be completed in the second quarter of this year together with other projects slated for 2021, as they individually called for the contractors and consultants to speed up some other projects by the end of the year.
By Ernest Kofi Adu, Back from the Northern Regions