Speaking on the Citi Breakfast Show on Monday, Mr. Kpelu said his firm had completed work on over 30% of the project but stopped in 2016 because four of the five certificates he sent to government for payment, totalling GH¢25 million had not been honoured.

“Since we started this road, we raised certificate number one, two, three, four and five. It was only number one that was honoured by the government.

“As I’m talking to you, we have outstanding payments from number two, three, four and five, totalling GHc25 million. The question is, if a local person wants to do something to support the whole country, should we be treated this way? Over one year now, we have not been working, because they’ve not paid us,” the contractor added.

Residents along the stretch, in a Citi News report, lamented the dusty nature of the road saying they risked contracting lung-related ailments.

Citi News’ Caleb Kudah who visited the area to listen to the plights of the residents reported that “nearly every surface of the LEKMA hospital is covered in dust and the air-conditioners at the hospital illustrate it better.”

“The fans have trapped a lot of dust and the situation has left residents here wondering that if fans of air-conditioners are trapping so much dust at the hospital how much more dust are they inhaling from this road especially when most of them have their little tables very close to the roadside? A doctor here told me that the nature of the road makes it difficult for emergency cases to be rushed in because drivers always have to slow down in order to bring in patients,” he added.

Francis Kpelu added on the Citi Breakfast Show that because work on the project had stalled for so long, most of the progress they made had eroded “so you will think that nothing has been done, which means that a lot of money will be required to re-fix the road.”

“I wrote to them – the Ministry of Roads – on June 16, 2017, drawing their attention to the clauses in the contract that this delay in payment is affecting the work significantly. And since then, no one has responded to my letter.”

He also noted that the entire project was supposed to have cost GHc62 million and complained that the banks which had given loans to his firm to begin the project have been chasing them for their money.

Mr. Kpelu added that his firm would move to continue with the project when the amount is released.

“We have to use our own money and then raise the certificate up to a certain percentage then they will pay us. But here is the case, we’ve done that and we have fulfilled our obligation under the contract but yet we’ve not been paid…If they start paying the money, I will go back on site and work will commence and everybody will see. It is something that will not be hidden at all,” he added.

Ledzokuku MP laments delayed road project

The Member of Parliament for Ledzorkuku constituency, Dr Bernard Okoe Boye who has been on a crusade to get the road fixed, lamented that all his efforts to get the responsible authorities to act have not yielded any positive results.

“I wrote quite a number of letters and spoke to the Ministry that if they had any reason to delay this route, for the sake of patients at the LEKMA hospital, they have to act fast. I’ve written to the Minister, I’ve spoken to senior colleagues in Parliament. I’ve spoken to superiors beyond the Minister, everywhere I go; I drop copies of the contract of the road telling them that it’s a 7.5-kilometer dual carriage road and that if they have a problem doing both, they should do just one.”

“You are supposed to spend just ten minutes from the Beach Road to Spintex but now it will take you about one hour longer or more to ply that road,” the MP added.

–

By: Godwin Akweiteh Allotey/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @AlloteyGodwin

The post Contractor demands GH¢62m to finish work on Teshie-Lascala road appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

According to him, such issues have been a source of worry for many in the constituency hence his decision to inject the cash into creating jobs in the area.

“With the unemployment issue, the one district one factory and one million dollar per constituency policy together with other initiatives will be used to curb the situation. We will use part of the one million dollar fund to solve the drainage system here,” he added.

Dr. Boye who unseated Benita Sena Okity-Duah in the 2012 general elections met with his constituents on Monday to listen to their problems.

Speaking to Citi News after the meeting Dr. Boye stated that he won’t disappoint them.

“The constituents must know that I am with them and that I didn’t fight for power for selfish gains. Fortunately they raised a lot of issues when I met them such as the problem of landing beaches, sanitation and unemployment. These are genuine concern I will take critical look at.” The MP added that he had put measures in place to address the issues raised.

“We have started finding solutions to some of the problems. For instance with the issue of sanitation, I joined the constituents to observe the national sanitation day which is the first Saturday in every month and this is to let them know I have not come to impose a solution rather to make them understand that we need to clean our environment ourselves and not expect an outsider to do it for us.”

The Minister for Fisheries and Aquaculture, Elizabeth Afoley Quaye who was also present at the meeting said government is putting in place measures to ensure that issues pertaining to the fishing industry are solved.

–

By: Philip Nii Lartey/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post I will tackle unemployment with gov’t cash – Ledzokuku MP appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

According to him, the incident of flooding in the city is as a result of choked gutters that hinders the flow of water anytime it rains.

He said such gutters must be desilted to prevent the flooding.

His assertion comes after the Minister of Works and Housing, Samuel Atta Akyea, announced that it will cost the country about $700 million to deal with the perennial flooding in Accra alone.

The minister said engineers had developed a plan for addressing the problem but funding is needed to ensure the work is done.

But speaking to Citi News during a clean-up exercise within the Ledzokuku constituency over the weekend, Dr. Oko Boye said the country can secure the funding if citizens get involved.

“The factors that lead to flooding are numerous and one of them is choked gutters so when you desilt the gutters it helps in the collective effort to reduce the flooding problems and the severity of the floods,” he said.

“We cannot say that because we are waiting for 700 million dollars, we will relax. Cleaning of the gutters is one important ways to curb flooding,” he added.

The Assembly Member for Ledzokuku Akro West, Nii Larkai Lamptey, who also participated in the clean-up exercise, urged the public to join in all local clean-up exercises saying “the gutters are very choked and there is the need for the public to join hands to help clean and desilt them.”

An opinion leader in the constituency, Nat Ayitey, lauded the Member of Parliament for the initiative, and pledged to support similar initiatives to rid the constituency of filth and avert the devastating effects of flooding.

Some parts of Accra have in the last few years suffered serious effects of flooding resulting from choked or improperly constructed drainage, buildings on waterways among others, leading to the loss of property and even lives.

–

By: Philip Nii Lartey/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Desilt Accra gutters to prevent flooding – Oko Boye appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.