Residents have complained about the bad nature of roads particularly in the capital, which they say has worsened human and vehicular traffic.

[contextly_sidebar id=”Iimz5PfKT8VQ0BUWU0tLrZcR9TAPKwlX”]In an interview with the Host of the Citi Breakfast Show, Bernard Avle on the sidelines of the Investors Forum in Accra, Asibey Antwi explained that the cost involved in fixing roads goes beyond the Assembly.

He was however quick to add that the Assembly had submitted requests to the Ministries of Roads and Highways, and Transport for the roads to be fixed.

“You will bear with me that when it comes to roads, it is beyond the capacity of the metro funds and therefore what we can do as city managers is to report to the authorities. Now we have been able to capture all our roads, and if you match our roads to all the cities within the country, Kumasi roads are the poorest.

“Now we have submitted all the detailed list to the Ministry for Roads, and Transport Ministry, and we are waiting for an action to be taken but now I can confidently say that the government is going to work on it.”

‘Kejetia project on course’

On the Kejetia development project, Mr. Asibey Antwi explained that, the project was delayed due to some legal hurdles.

He was however quick to add, that these issues had been resolved.

“Kejetia project has gone far. It was unduly delayed because of the legal issue that affected the project, but now with the involvement of chiefs, we have been able to solve that issue; now that the legal issue has been solved the contractor has been given the green light to start working on those areas that were being contested.”

We deserve better projects

Just recently, Bantamahene, Baffuor Owusu Amankwatia VI, also bemoaned the poor road infrastructure and its attendant problems on lawlessness in the area.

Bantamahene told journalists in Kumasi that, “they (chiefs) are appalled by poor road networks and general lawlessness in Kumasi.”

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By: Marian Ansah/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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This is in spite of the huge debt left behind by the previous administration which is affecting the Ministry’s delivery.

Speaking to the media during an inspection tour of some roads and drainage projects in the constituency, he said the approved projects will include the covering and construction of drains and roads at Sahara, Tunga, and Zodiac, all within the Ablekuma West constituency.

Mr. Amoako-Attah said these projects required “emergency treatment” adding that he had already “directed the heads of agencies responsible to treat it as such.”

Apart from these critical cases, he said the “main road that runs through the length and breadth of the constituency and a few interior roads are going to also be worked on.”

The Minister further assured that the people of the constituency were going to see action by November 2017.

“…Within one month, the people in Ablekuma are going to see action. Despite the fact that we have serious and a debt overhang in the road sector, you are still seeing action because we are thinking outside the box. We are not doing things as usual.”

As far as the timelines are concerned, the Minister for Communications and Member of Parliament for Ablekuma West, Ursula Owusu Ekuful, expressed some confidence in the Ministry’s previous track record in the constituency.

“We are going to put pressure on them to make sure that they do [the work]. And I can only say a big thank you to the urban roads department,” she said.

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By: Delali Adogla-Bessa/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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Speaking to the media on a working visit to some road projects within Greater Accra Region, the Minister reiterated his government’s commitment to sanction contractors who fail to give value for money for their work.

“There is no way that the people of this country will accept any shoddy work from any contractor from now going, and I have said it and indicated that, we as a government and the employer, will make sure we discharge our side of the obligation, and we shall take every engineer, every contractor who does a shoddy work.”

“If you are a contractor and you don’t work well and you don’t give the people of this country value for money it will not be tolerated. From now going, you do it once and you can be sure that you will be blacklisted and you will never work for the people of this country. Anybody who has something to do with our ministry should be serious” he said

The Minister as part of a one-day working tour of some road projects, visited a slope repairs and protection project on the Ayi Mensah-Peduase Lodge-Aburi road to ascertain the progress of work.

He expressed satisfaction at the quality of work at the site.

The Minister however cautioned the contractor to complete the project on schedule.

The Resident Engineer, Enyo Koku Matrevi, who took the Minister and his entourage through the project site, commended the minister’s proactiveness and knowledge on the job.

“I am even quite surprised that you have memorised all the details of the project, it’s a good sign and we are ready to cooperate,” he said

The Managing Director of CST Ghana, the company in charge of the project, Joseph Akyeampong, assured the Minister of timely completion should government honour its payment promises.

He added that “We are giving the assurance to the people of Ghana that this job would be finished within the eight months extended time given us.”

The  Minister also visited the Dome-Kwabenya stretch of road which was awarded in 2011.

The contractor was not on site as at the time of visit, but the Minister gave assurance that government will make sure work resumes on various road projects that have stalled.

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By: Anass Seidu/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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The attack place in the town of Mubi in Adamawa state, close to the border with Cameroon.

Adamawa is one of three states that have been placed under emergency rule because of an insurgency waged by Islamist Boko Haram militants.

However, no-one has yet said they carried out the latest attack.

“So far we have 14 dead while 12 are injured, some of them critically,” said the police spokesman for Adamawa state, Usman Abubakar.

Some reports put the death toll higher.

According to the BBC’s Nigeria correspondent, Will Ross, it is hard to get eyewitness accounts because of an overnight curfew in the area.

Abducted girls

Bombings by Boko Haram in central and northern Nigeria have killed at least 200 people over the past month.

The Islamist group has come under the international spotlight after it recently abducted more than 200 girls from a school in northern Nigeria.

Efforts to locate the girls have so far drawn a blank.

President Goodluck Jonathan said last Thursday that he had ordered a “full-scale operation” against Boko Haram.

However, all efforts to locate the missing girls have so far drawn a blank.

According to Reuters news agency, Boko Haram has killed at least 500 civilians since the girls were abducted in April.

Source: BBC

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Mr Jonathan said those who carried out the attack were “cruel and evil”.

It is feared more bodies still lie under the rubble of buildings destroyed by the explosions, which targeted a crowded market and a hospital.

Nigeria has been facing a sustained campaign by the Islamist Boko Haram militant group.

Last month Boko Haram abducted 200 girls from a boarding school in the north-eastern town of Chibok.

The president said he was committed to fighting terrorism despite criticism that he has failed to ensure security.

‘Enemies of progress’

His office described Tuesday’s attack as a “tragic assault on human freedom”.

“President Jonathan assures all Nigerians that [the] government remains fully committed to winning the war against terror and… will not be cowed by the atrocities of enemies of human progress and civilisation,” it said in a statement.

He announced increased measures to tackle the militants, including a multinational force around Lake Chad which comprises a battalion each from Chad, Niger, Cameroon and Nigeria.

If this is once again the work of Boko Haram, it shows the Islamist extremist group’s determination to expand its area of operation and prove that it can strike where it wishes, the BBC’s Will Ross, in the Nigerian capital Abuja, says.

The second blast in Jos came 30 minutes after the first, killing rescue workers who had rushed to the scene, which was enveloped by clouds of black smoke.

“It’s horrifying, terrible,” said Mark Lipdo of the Stefanos Foundation, a Christian charity based in the city who said the air was heavy with the smell of burning bodies.

Witnesses described a grim scene of dead and badly injured people – some with their limbs blown off – as fires were still raging out of control eight hours after the attack.

Dozens of casualties were covered in grain that had been loaded in the second car bomb, witnesses said.

“Firemen are still trying to put several blazes out. We believe we will find more bodies,” a spokesman for the National Emergency Management Agency (Nema) said.

He said the fires were being fuelled by flammable goods at the market, including rubber sandals.

The regional governor’s office told AFP news agency that most of the victims were women.

The market and bus terminal are part of the commercial centre of Jos.

Correspondents say that Nigeria is under renewed worldwide attention over its response to Boko Haram, especially given the global attention on the plight of the missing school girls.

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Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau said on Monday that captured girls who had not converted to Islam could be swapped for jailed fighters.

Mr Turaki said that if Shekau was sincere, he should send representatives for talks.

The girls were abducted last month from a boarding school in the north-east.

A video emerged on Monday showing about 130 of the girls wearing hijabs and reciting Koranic verses.

The governor of north-eastern Borno state, Kashim Shettima, says all those seen in the 27-minute footage have been identified as the abducted schoolgirls from Chibok Secondary School.

The girls’ families have said that most of those seized are Christians, although there are a number of Muslims among them.

‘Boosting spirits’

Mr Turaki – who is special duties minister and chairman of a committee set up by President Goodluck Jonathan to find ways of reaching agreement with Boko Haram – said that Shekau should send people he trusted to meet the standing committee on reconciliation.

He told the BBC’s Focus on Africa programme that “dialogue is a key option” in bringing the crisis to an end and that “an issue of this nature can be resolved outside of violence”.

Correspondents say that the government appears to have changed its stance in relation to talks, because it initially suggested there would be no negotiations with Boko Haram.

Government information agency director Mike Omeri said late on Monday that the authorities would “use whatever kind of action” it took to free the girls, and that a military operation – with foreign help – was possible.

In efforts to confirm the identities of girls in the video, it was shown to some people in Chibok – the town where the girls were kidnapped – on Monday evening.

The chairman of the parents-teachers association at the school told the Reuters news agency that while seeing the video had “got parents apprehensive again”, the steps taken by the government and “the arrival of foreign troops” were boosting spirits.

But Dumoma Mpur said that so far she has not seen any government troops in Chibok.

Meanwhile President Goodluck Jonathan has asked the National Assembly to extend for another six months the state of emergency in Borno – from where the girls were abducted – and two other north-eastern states.

In another development, the US has revealed it is flying manned surveillance missions over Nigeria to an effort to find the missing schoolgirls.

A team of about 30 US experts – members of the FBI and defence and state departments – is in Nigeria to help with the search. The UK, France and China also have teams on the ground in Nigeria and an Israeli counter-terrorism team is on its way.

Nigerian Chief of Defence Staff Alex Badeh welcomed such support and described the relationship between his country and the US as “mutual and strategic”.

British Foreign Office Minister Mark Simmonds will travel to Nigeria on Wednesday for high-level meetings to discuss further British assistance.

Credit: BBC

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President Mahama as the Chairman of ECOWAS is expected to meet Nigerian President, Goodluck Jonathan to find ways of ending the activities of Nigeria’s Islamist group, Boko Haram.

Boko Haram last month abducted over 200 school girls at a school in the northern part of Nigeria and followed with another abduction of about eight girls on Monday.

The United States has deployed experts to Nigeria to help find the abducted girls while the British Foreign Minister, William Hague has also offered to help Nigeria in the search.

Boko Haram has subsequently threatened to sell the girls.

In Ghana, many have expressed fears that President Mahama’s involvement in the issue may cause a spill over in Ghana.

But Mr. Nortey-Addo, in an interview on Eyewitness News said, it is the responsibility of President Mahama to ensure all issues within the ECOWAS sub-region are addressed.

“The President has a responsibility to ensure that all issues within the ECOWAS region, particularly, in the area of terrorism are tackled and tackled well and so if he decides to go to Nigeria, it is nothing out of context,” he explained.

He also stated that the notion that terrorists will not harm people who do not talk about their activities is false.

“Terrorists strike anywhere they want to strike. I have always maintained that they target interests and it could be internal or external and so we shouldn’t be under delusion that when we sit down and Nigeria is on fire, and everything is well with Ghana, we can just keep quiet. It is everybody’s business, not just the President’s, but individuals on the ground,” he said.

Meanwhile, an Islamic Analyst, Ibad Ibrahim is suggesting that the best way to end the insurgency in Nigeria is for Goodluck Jonathan to step down as President.

“I think that Goodluck Jonathan should give way because you can look at the fact in Nigeria, the Muslim politicians have dominated the politics of the country since 1960. Apart from Sonika, Namdi Azikiwe, and Yakubu Gowon , most of these head of states have been Muslims and therefore, they feel they have the prerogative at any point in time to call the shots vis-à-vis the politics of the country,” he explained.

By: Marian Efe Ansah/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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