Mr. Paul Evans Aidoo, the Western Regional Minister, has said it was not true that some oil companies in the Region are funding the rehabilitation of some arterial roads in the Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolis.
He said the rehabilitation of some arterial roads in the twin city was being funded solely by the Government of Ghana through the Consolidated Fund.
Mr. Aidoo, who is the Member of Parliament for Sefwi-Wiawso, made this known during an inspection of the completion of the first phase of a 20-kilometre rehabilitation of some arterial roads in the Sekondi-Takoradi metropolis on Thursday.
The project, which formed part of a 70-kilometre roads earmarked for rehabilitation in the metropolis, was executed by JUSTMOH Construction Limited, at a cost of GH¢15.2 million.
Mr. Aidoo said: “No oil company or individual is funding those road projects as being speculated in some circles, therefore let’s give due credit to the government for doing good work.”
He urged utility and telecommunication companies to desist from cutting across rehabilitated roads to lay their cables and pipelines because of the damage it caused to them.
He said the assembly should deal withe companies that would cut any road because it caused the government huge sums of money to undertake maintenance works on the roads.
He said district engineering coordinating teams should always collaborate with road contractors to identify location of utility lines during road construction so that the government would not spend extra money to relocate them after completion of those roads.
The Regional Director of Urban Roads Department, Mr. Rosby Kome-Mensah, said the government would officially take over the roads from the contractors after 12 months when all defects identified on them had been rectified.
He said the second phase of rehabilitation works on 25-kilometre roads in the metropolis would soon start and added that the rehabilitation of arterial roads would be replicated in other regional capitals including Kumasi and Accra.
The Mayor of Sekondi-Takoradi, Captain Anthony Cudjoe (rtd), appealed to people to be vigilant by reporting individuals whose actions and inactions damaged the roads.
Some rehabilitated roads include Sekondi High Street, Well Road, West and East Tanokrom roads, Lagos Town road, Anaji road and Vodafone/Mantrac loop road,.
The rest are Iroko Street, Kwesimintsim Zongo road, Axim road, Animens road, CK Mann road and Windy Ridge road.
Source: GNA