The Vice President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, has commissioned the 100km Rehabilitation and Auxiliary Infrastructure of Kumasi Inner Ring Road and Adjacent Streets Project – Phase 1, for which he cut sod on 13th December, 2019 at Kentenkrono in the Oforikrom Municipality.

This brings the total number of kilometers of completed roads constructed by the Akufo-Addo administration since 2017 to 1,180.2. This figure is more than double the 503.44 kilometers of road constructed in the region between 2009 and 2016.

The 100km Rehabilitation and Auxiliary Infrastructure of Kumasi Inner Ring Road and Adjacent Streets Project – Phase 1 was undertaken with the primary objectives of enhancing intra-urban traffic flow, reducing the incidence of flooding, dust pollution and other negative environmental effects associated with the poor road network, according to the Ministry of Roads and Highways.

Authorities of the Urban Roads Department say the completion of the project has improved accessibility within Kumasi especially for the beneficiary communities in Asokwa, Bantama, Nhyiaeso, Manhyia, Oforikrom, Kwadaso, Tafo Pankrono, Subin, and Suame.

Speaking at the Commissioning on Monday, August 1, 2022, Vice President Bawumia said the completion of this project, as well as the many completed and ongoing, is evidence of the Government’s commitment to improving the road infrastructure across the country, especially in the Ashanti region.

“The completion of this project is so important to Government since we shall be adding 100km of rehabilitated roads to the network in Kumasi.

“Apart from the roads we are commissioning today, let me state some of the Works that Government is undertaking in Ashanti, under the Road Agencies under the Ministry of Roads and Highways:

Records
“The Department of Urban Roads (DUR) has successfully completed the asphalt overlay of 295km of roads in the Ashanti region since 2017. Some of the beneficiary areas include Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly-Subin Nhyiaeso and Bantama, Asokwa, Oforikrom, Old Tafo, Asokore Mampong, Bekwai, Ejisu, Juaben, Sekyere East (Effiduase), Asante Mampong, Kwadaso, Obuasi, Suame and Atwima Nwabiagya South.

“Apart from the 100km local roads that we are commissioning today, the DUR has also completed another 75km of town roads in Ashanti, including Bekwai Town roads (11km); Kwamo Town Roads (5.5km), Manhyia Roads (Buokrom)- 6km and Ejisu/ Kwaso Town Road (7km),” Dr Bawumia revealed.

Ongoing works being undertaken under the supervision of the DUR include Partial Reconstruction of Selected Roads in Kumasi Lot1 (57km); the Kumasi Roads and Drainage Extension Project (90% complete); and the 100km construction of the Kumasi Inner City Roads, involving the rehabilitation of another 100km of local roads in Kumasi. The sod was cut on 25th March 2022, with works 10% complete.

Ghana Highway Authority
The GHA has undertaken the rehabilitation and upgrading of 264 km of roads since 2017, the Vice President disclosed, with the roads either at primer seal stage or have the full seal on them. In addition, 28km of critical roads are at Asphaltic binder stage in the region.
As well, the Department of Feeder Roads has completed about 342km of roads since 2017. Some of the roads completed and tarred include Poano-Ntinnanko Feeder Road (6km); Barekese-Fufuo-Adugyama Feeder Road (10km); Ahenkro-Boamag Feeder Road (11km); Upgrading of Menang Junction-Menang-Dotom Feeder Road (15km); and Bitumen Surfacing of Fiankoma-Hia Feeder Road (14.5km).

Assuring the region of Government’s continued commitment to improving road infrastructure, Vice President Bawumia emphasized:
“There are currently a lot of road works at various stages of completion in the region and we intend to ensure that they are all completed. I am happy to inform you that Parliament has approved the construction of the Suame Interchange- Phase1. Works are expected to start by September 2022.
I know you are also eager to hear about the Boankra Inland Port. I am happy to report that the contractor has moved to site for work to begin this month,” he added.

Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia has launched the 175th anniversary celebrations of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church Ghana (EPCG) with a call on Ghanaians to view and utilize the various religious inclinations as a force for good and a facilitator of national cohesion.

“As children of the only and one true God, whether Christian or Muslim, we all believe in the God of Isaac, Jacob and Abraham. We all believe in the virgin birth of Mary. We all believe that Jesus Christ is the savior and that Jesus Christ will come back again to save the world.

“This is what should bring us together as a people. We must see religion as a force for unity and not a force for division. This is a charge we must keep as children of God,” Dr Bawumia stated at the launch, which took place in Accra on Sunday, July 31, 2022.

Ghana’s unique acceptance and peaceful co-existence is the envy of many across the world and must be guarded jealously, Dr Bawumia pointed out, with the country retaining its peaceful credentials in a recent global survey.

“In addition to the economic and development issues that the church must be concerned with is the need for the church and pulpit to be used as instruments for a peaceful nation building. According to the recent Global Peace Index, Ghana maintains its position as the second most peaceful country in sub-Saharan Africa and the most peaceful in West Africa.

“This is a remarkable feat that must be guarded jealously without any compromises no matter what. Both the Bible and Quran place much emphasis on the matter of peace. And it is gratifying to note that in Ghana we have such a religious tolerant and acceptable society that makes it effortless for a Christian priest to worship with Muslims and vice versa, to the point that a Muslim Chief Imam could celebrate his 100th years anniversary with Christians in the church.”

Citing himself as an example to buttress his point of peaceful co-existence, Vice President Bawumia continued:

“We live in a society where a mother and some children could be Christians and a father and some children could be Muslims. As a young boy at Sakasaka primary school in Tamale I was born by a Methodist mother (then Susuana Mariama) and a Muslim father. Growing up I was an active member of the Methodist Boys’ Brigade until my mum changed to Islam. I suspect I am the only Muslim member of the Boys’ Brigade. Till date, out of my sibling size of seventeen (17), nine (9) are Christians and eight (8) Muslims. That is the beauty of the religious acceptance in Ghana,” he revealed.

EP Church Ghana

Dr Bawumia commended the church for its enormous contribution to national cohesion and development, saying it has been a “reliable, trusted, and formidable agent of the transformation, civilization, and progress of society. The gains we have made as a nation pre- and post-independence in moral, spiritual and socio-economic development could not have been entirely possible without the keen involvement of the church.

“Indeed, we cannot mention any monumental contributions of the church to nation-building without recognising the role of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church Ghana. In addition to your numerous educational establishments including over 500 basic and tertiary institutions such as Mawuli, Mawuko, EP Senior High Schools in Hohoe, Saboba, Tatale, plus Vocational and Technical Schools, as well as Colleges of Education, you have also earned the enviable reputation of establishing the first university in the entire Volta and Oti Regions, the Evangelical Presbyterian University College (EPUC).

“Your health centres in Wapuli, Ho, Dambai, Blajai, inter alia, coupled with your numerous relief and development projects in the areas of agricultural development, climate change advocacy, HIV/AIDS & TB Programmes, among several others, have added to your endless list of achievements over the past seventeen and half decades of your existence,” he observed.

Ghana | Atinkaonline.com