Kweku Ofori Asiamah, The Minister For Transport & Aviation
THE MINISTER FOR TRANSPORT & AVIATION, Kweku Ofori Asiamah, has assured the Overlord and people of Dagbon that President Akufo-Addo’s second term in office will see him bring more developmental projects to their doorsteps of the people of Dagbon.
One of such developmental projects, he noted, would be the construction of a DVLA Office in Yendi, which would be equipped with modern facilities, to serve the area as well as other nearby communities.
“Developing the northern parts of Ghana, especially, Yendi, remains a top priority for Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.
He is bent on putting up a very nice DVLA Office here, which would as well serve the people of Saboba, Zabzugu, Tatale, Bimbilla, Kpandai, Wulensi and other communities.
People from these places would now come to Yendi, to transact business. We need to protect the lives of our people,” he noted.
He added, “If somebody buys a motorbike and wants to use it here in Yendi and you tell that person to go and register it in Tamale, he or she won’t go. So, as part of the President’s vision that we must take development to the doorsteps of the people, we will make sure that we build a modern DVLA Office and furnish it with modern equipment.
“This would enable us to train our people and licence them properly. We don’t want the police to continue to harass them, though it is their duty to make sure that whoever rides a motorbike or drives a car has the appropriate licence. So, if we don’t bring a DVLA Office here, people will resort to going to ‘goro boys’ to obtain fake licences.”
Mr. Kweku Asiamah made this observation when he, in the company of the Northern Regional Minister, Shani Alhassan Saibu, led a delegation from the Ministry of Transport & Aviation, Ghana Airports Company Limited (GACL) and the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) to a pay a courtesy call on the Overlord of Dagbon, Ya Naa Abukari II, in Yendi, to ask for his permission and blessings to inspect the ongoing Tamale Airport phase II project.
Mr. Asiamah said that a DVLA Office for the people of Yendi and its environs would help to reduce the trauma that victims of motor accident undergo, with regard to the acquisition of insurance for their motorcycles, in times of accidents.
“I am assuring the King of Dagbon that we are working on the building of a DVLA Office in Yendi, and this will not take long to materialize,” he assured the overlord.
This was in reaction to an earlier an appeal made by the Overlord in the welcome remarks read on his behalf by Dr. Jacob Yakubu Mahama.
Appeal By Dagbon Overlord
The Overlord, Ya Naa Abukari II, had complained bitterly about the increasing level of indiscipline on road networks within the Yendi Municipality by drivers and motorists. He said this was leading to hikes in motor accidents, a situation he largely attributed to unlicenced driving and riding.
Owing to the situation at hand, precious lives were being lost almost every day and there was therefore the need to minimize the sad occurrence in the municipality.
To curb the occurrence, the overlord appealed to the Transport & Aviation Minister to facilitate the opening of a DVLA branch office in Yendi, which would serve the Eastern Corridor.
Air Travel
The overlord appealed to the government to, as a matter of urgency, roll out the phase III of the Tamale Airport Project; namely, the expansion of the terminal, and some other facilities. This would avoid any impending encounter with serious difficulties, concomitant with the completion of the phase II project.”
He further appealed to the government to consider the development and the upgrading of the Yendi Airstrip, to the status of an airport, since the area had little or no opportunity for water transport but rather a huge potential for air transport.
Responding to the appeals made by the overlord, Mr. Asiamah gave the assurance that the Yendi Airstrip project would soon takeoff after all technical challenges had been ironed out.
He hinted that, for instance, the proposed site previously earmarked for an airstrip, had been encroached upon, to house several households, while another portion had been given out for the erection of a telecommunication mast which would facilitate communication services in the area.
“These are all against standards required by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ACAO) for developing an airstrip or airport; no object must be sited on the Runway End Safety Area (RESA).
“And if there should be it must be located 300m away from the Runway End Safety Area.
Government is now torn between choosing the old site, and paying compensation to owners of houses closer to the proposed airstrip location, or going in for a new site altogether,” the minister explained.