WORK ON MANSO-TONTOKROM ROAD STARTS (MARCH 13, 2010)

A SOD-CUTTING ceremony has been performed at Manso-Tontokrom in the Amansie West District in the Ashanti Region for the construction of a portion of the Datano-Tontokrom feeder road.
The area to be constructed included, a steep hill, where a number of accidents, some very serious, have been occurring over the years. The area also becomes impassable when it rains.
The government is providing GH¢20,000 towards the GH¢195,000-project, with the Millennium Villages Project (MVP) bearing the remaining GH¢175,000.
In a speech read on his behalf by Mr Charles Oti-Prempeh, the Amansie West District Chief Executive, the Regional Minister, Mr Kofi Opoku-Manu, said the MVP had provided a lot of opportunities for the area’s growth.
He, therefore, thanked the MVP and its donors for the support it continued to offer towards the district’s development initiatives.
Mr Opoku-Manu advised drivers plying the roads in the district to be cautious in order to avoid accidents.
He also urged the contractor undertaking the project to do a good job.
In his remarks, the Team Leader/Cluster Manager of the Bonsaaso MVP, Mr Samuel Afram, said one of the major objectives of the project was to increase access to markets, health facilities, school, among others, in the project area.
Mr Afram noted with concern that in spite of the huge potential for development, poor roads had remained one of the major setbacks to improved growth.
He said it was against that background that the MVP and the government, through the Department of Feeder Roads, decided to tackle the road project.
Mr Afram said the central government had invested about GH¢5 million in road projects in the Bonsaaso Cluster of the MVP since 2006.
He stated that the collaboration between the MVP and the government had continued to provide positive results for the betterment of the Bonsaaso cluster of villages.
Mr Afram said the MVP appreciated the fact that the government alone could not cater for all the needs of the people; that was why the project was doing its best to address some of the challenges facing the people.
The Regional Director of the Department of Feeder Roads, Mr Peter Yawson, stated that no community could develop without good roads.
He, therefore, commended the MVP for its commitment towards reshaping the roads in the area.
Mr Yawson appealed to the communities to co-operate with the contractor to ensure successful execution of the project.