FEEDER ROADS IN AHAFO ANO SOUTH DETERIORATE (PAGE 20, JULY 7)

THE condition of feeder roads in the Ahafo Ano South District in the Ashanti Region has seriously deteriorated as a result of the heavy rains,thereby creating problems for vehicular movement.
Some of the roads that are in a bad state include the one linking Adugyama with Biemso, as well as the Mankranso, the Kunsu Junction-Apenamadi-Bonkwaso and Kunsu-Abaasua roads.
This came to light when the Daily Graphic visited the district to find out the state of the roads and how they were affecting farming and other activities in the area.
It also enabled the paper to establish whether the government’s decision last year to tar five kilometres of roads in the district had been carried out.
Drivers were finding it difficult to get to the hinterlands to cart foodstuffs to the buying centres while passengers, in some cases, were stranded for long hours.
Some of the farmers appealed to the government to come to their aid before the situation got out of hand.
With regard to the tarring of the five- kilometre road, it was found out that nothing had been done about it.
Early last year, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) government announced a programme to tar over 1,000 kilometres of roads in the various districts of the country with each district getting five kilometres.
It was a special initiative which also included the provision of the five communities in each district with electricity and potable water, all designed at poverty reduction.
Some of the people complained of the poor construction work of roads in the area and stressed the need for the government to ensure that contractors did quality work in order to get value for money.
Last year, members of the Krantori Area Council in the Ahafo Ano South expressed concern about the award feeder road contracts without the knowledge of the chiefs and the people of the beneficiary communities.
They argued that the practice brought conflicts between the contractors and the communities.
At an area council meeting, the members said the situation also promoted the execution of shoddy works and persistent delays in the completion of the projects.
According to them, since the awards of contracts by government were done without the knowledge of the beneficiary communities, most contractors failed to heed any suggestions made by the local people, making them not feel part of the execution of the project.