Appoint Neutral Road Inspection/Monitoring Committees - Government Urged

The Chairperson of the Awutu-Effutu-Senya District Mutual Health Insurance Scheme (AESDMHIS), Mrs. Georgina Asamoah, has advocated the appointment of neutral road works inspection committees in all district capitals of the country. The work of the proposed neutral road inspection committees shall be to ensure regular and effective inspection of roads under construction, rehabilitation, and monitoring of the activities of contractors implementing feeder and urban roads which falls within their respective areas of jurisdiction. Membership of such vital developmental committees must comprise of people of high moral calibre, including women and children advocates, clergymen, traditional rulers, selected road works experts from the country's higher institutions, farmers leaders, teachers and traders associations as well as transport unions and associations. Mrs. Asamoah, who made the suggestion at Senya-Beraku in the Central Region, added that reports that would be submitted to the Government on shoddy works put up by unqualified road contractors in the course of the official duties of any of the proposed neutral road inspection and monitoring committees, should not be regarded as " witch hunting" but must be treated with the speed and importance they deserve. Mrs. Asamoah, who is also a member of the Awutu Effutu Senya District Assembly, was commenting on what she perceived to be a shoddy work being exhibited consistently by a number of unqualified road contractors executing road constructional works in the regions. She was expressed optimism that the appointment of neutral road inspection and monitoring committees would help curb, once and for all, problems of unqualified road contractors creeping their way into the road construction industry and "eventually save the nation huge amounts of money which otherwise could have been channelled into wrong pockets." Mrs. Asamoah expressed appreciation that the Ashanti Regional Minister had taken the initiative to stop such practices, saying that billions of cedis spent annually to recondition feeder and urban roads executed by unqualified road contractors could be utilized to build primary and junior secondary school blocks to accommodate thousands of children currently schooling under trees in the regions. Such ill-gotten monies by unqualified road contractors could also help sustain the new educational reforms programme, particularly the 'the school feeding and capitation programmes', Mrs. Asamoah added. Mrs. Asamoah charged the Government to initiate measures to stop road contractors from using inferior materials on feeder and urban roads as " first coat", stressing that the so-called "first coat" accounted for the continued deterioration of most feeder and urban road networks throughout the country. She regretted that when such roads got deteriorated, it was the same unqualified people who were, more often than not, given the nod to work on the projects from which they had amassed illegal wealth at the expense of the taxpayers. "Enough is enough, it is about time more serious and concrete efforts are made to salvage the nation from the shackles of these nation wreckers", Mrs Asamoah added.