The Member of Parliament (MP) for the Wa West Constituency, Peter Lanchene Toobu, has urged Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs) to monitor projects under the government’s flagship Big Push Infrastructure Programme within their jurisdictions. 

He said the regular monitoring of these projects by MMDCEs would put contractors on their toes to deliver quality roads within schedule.  

Mr Toobu said this during an inspection visit by the Upper West Parliamentary Caucus to some sections of the Wa-Tumu Road project under the Big Push Programme, to assess progress of work.  

He charged them, saying, “Visit the site with your various engineers. If there is a need for you to talk to the site engineer, you do that so that at the end of the day, when these roads are completed, they will be worth it or useful for our own good,” Mr Toobu said.  

The Caucus urged contractors working on the Big Push projects in the region to expedite action and deliver high-quality roads that could stand the test of time. 

It said that was necessary considering the importance of those projects in improving economic activities within the region, as well as improving interregional trade and business. 

The Member of Parliament for the Daffiama-Bussie-Issa Constituency and leader of the caucus, Dr. Sebastian Sandaare, indicated that the visit was to enable the MPs to obtain first-hand information about the projects and to engage the Roads Minister for the necessary actions to be taken. 

He said as representatives of the people of the region, the MPs had a responsibility to monitor projects being implemented in the region to help ensure value for money. 

Dr Sandaare said they would continue to engage the Roads and Highways Minister and other relevant stakeholders to ensure the projects were completed within schedule and of high quality. 

Bede Ziedeng, the MP for Lawra Constituency, said the inspection was particularly important because some sections of the public were uncertain about the implementation of the Big Push Road projects. 

He said having firsthand relevant information about the projects would enable the MPs to confidently account to their constituents and the people of the region. 

Fuseini Gbene Abudu, the Sissala West DCE, observed that the Wa-Tumu-Bolgatanga Road was important for the transportation of agricultural produce to major market centres, making its timely completion essential to driving the local economy. 

The contractors in charge of the Wa-Tumu-Bolgatanga Road included P&W Ghanem Ltd, Greenhouse International Development Group Ghana Ltd, Maripoma Construction Company Ltd, Aschal Construction Ltd., and Mawums Ltd. 

While commending Ghanem and Aschal for the progress of work so far, Mr Abudu expressed concern about the slow pace of work by Greenhouse and Maripoma, whose sections included some of the worst portions of the Hain-Tumu Road. 

The P&W Ghanem, which was working on about 22 km of the Wa-Hain section of the road, had already undergone priming as well as the first sealing process. 

Mr Caesar Wadia, who spoke on behalf of the company, said the second sealing was expected to be completed within a few days.