Establish road maintenance groups, government urged

Winneba (C/R), July 7, GNA – Mr Charles Kwabena Okyere, the Life Patron of the Anyidado (Hope) Welfare Club, has called on government to establish special groups in the districts to undertake road maintenance to facilitate transportation services.

He said the lack of effective road repairs has denied the nation the needed support to develop the country.

Mr Okyere made the call in an interview with the Ghana News Agency at Winneba after a seminar to educate the members of the Anyidado Welfare Club on their civic responsibilities, was held.

He said the proposed groups should be named as Special National Road Maintenance Groups (SNRMGs) and should be formed in the 247 districts of the country to put an end to the “one-man or three-member pothole filling contractors.”

He said the initiative would complement the New Patriotic Party (NPP) government’s efforts to create employment opportunities for the jobless youth in the country, particularly those in the rural areas to reduce rural urban migration.

Mr Okyere said each district should have 10 SNRMGs with each group consisting of five workers to undertake filling of potholes and regular clearance of weedy sides of roads to prevent accidents.

He urged the Ministry of Roads and Highways to appoint special committees to inspect the operations of the groups every three months, and submit their reports to the various District, Municipal, and Metropolitan Assemblies.

He said the Ministry should provide the needed technical support to the groups by giving them training and the necessary tools to work.

Mr Okyere expressed unhappiness about activities of some officials of the Ministry who quickly initiate moves to reshape bad roads whenever they got information of a planned visit by an important dignitary.

He called for the rehabilitation of all abandoned living quarters of the defunct Public Works Department (PWD) located in various part of the country to make accommodation available to the workers of the SNRMGs.

He said “this initiative will serve as an effective machinery for the revival of the PWD.”

GNA

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