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Amoako-Atta inspects
Government is working to deliver 1,056.9-kilometre road network to the people of the Upper West Region before the end of the year.
These comprise of 471.3km trunk roads, 123.3 km of feeder roads and 132km of urban roads.
Also, plans are underway to award additional 474km of road projects to contractors before the end of the year, involving 36 different projects at different locations.
The Minister for Roads and Highways, Mr kwesi Amoako-Atta announced this at a news conference at Wa over the weekend as part of a day’s working visit to the region.
He indicated that the ongoing construction and the planned projects when completed would amount to 26.4 per cent of work done on roads in the region.
Mr Amoako-Atta said that the Ghana Highways Authority was handling 21 different projects; Department of Feeder Roads was supervising 42 of them, whereas the remaining 15 was under the Department of Urban Roads.
He said the president was committed to working on roads in the country, hence had invested largely in that sector by ensuring that contractors were paid on time to encourage them to expedite action on their respective projects.
The Minister listed among others the construction of major roads such as Tumu-Hamile, Wa-Bulenga, Wa-Han, Fian-Wahabu and Nadowli-Lawra-Hamile roads.
“We are also upgrading Fian-Daffiama-Nadowli, Wa-Chari, Jirapa-Duori, Tumu-Sissili, Tumu-Gwollu-Hamile, Lawra-Han-Tumu roads. We will also rehabilitate the Dorimon-Black Volta, Welembelle-Santijan and Zambo-Kambaa roads as well as some major routes and roads in the Wa Municipality,” he said.
Mr Amoako-Atta indicated that good road network was a requisite for national development, hence the quest for government to work on all roads across the country.
“It is not a mere coincidence that government has labelled 2020 as the year of roads. Government is tackling all sectors of road construction to meet the high demand for good roads in the country, because road infrastructure is very key in the development of the country,” he explained.
The Minister flanked by his Deputy, Mr Anthony Abeifaa Karbo, the Regional Minister, Dr Hafiz Bin Salih and some heads of departments as well as staff of the Ministry of Roads and Highways toured some projects sites to inspect the ongoing construction of roads.
At Lawra, the Minister and his entourage inspected the broken Dekpe bridge and pledged government’s commitment to constructing the bridge to facilitate trade between Ghana and Burkina Faso.
The minister rounded up his tour at Tumu where he described work done by the various contractors as satisfactory, and called on residents to ensure that road signs were not used as scrap by some unscrupulous people.
Source: Ghanaian Times
Mr. Alfred Nii Kotey Ashie, the Member of Parliament for the Odododiodioo Constituency in the Greater Accra Region, has assured the Accra Street Academy of his support in achieving its mission of uplifting vulnerable children within the community to break the cycle of poverty. “Without the needed support, your efforts may go round in circles due to the enormity of the task. This should not be left on the shoulders of the Academy alone. You need support from both government and the private sector. With that, the Academy would be in a good position to shape the future of these children on the streets,” he said.
The Accra Street Academy, originally formed in 1985 as a boxing arena, now serves as a school for deprived children, with most of its population numbering hundreds of pupils being neglected children from the streets of Jamestown and its environs. Mr. Alfred Nii Kotey Ashie made these remarks at the annual stakeholders’ meeting and fundraising event held over the weekend under the theme “Empowering Street Children: Health and Wellness.” The event is one of the Academy’s annual programmes, organized to raise funds and other forms of support to aid the school in catering to the needs of the children and holding its Christmas get-together.
According to the MP, it is worth noting that these children are taught and provided with two meals and a snack daily through the support of benevolent members of society. In view of this, he promised to facilitate the acquisition of documents needed for the construction of an Astroturf within the school’s premises. He noted that “every child has the right to play, and therefore I pledged to do my best to secure the needed documents” for the project to commence.
The legislator disclosed that over the years, the academic programmes of the Accra Street Academy have transformed children surviving on the streets into successful adults. He therefore urged other members of society to partner with the school to “help pupils rise higher for a better Ghana.” In the 2025/26 academic year, 22 pupils were absorbed by the Accra Metro Education Directorate as they transitioned into various Junior High Schools, while still returning to the Accra Street Academy for academic support.
Ms. Yvonne Abba-Opoku, a chartered governance advisor and senior executive in the nonprofit and charity sector, stated that the best gift to give a child was education.
By Spectator Reporter
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Mrs Regina Kudom, Senior Midwifery Officer at the New Atuabo Health Centre in the Tarkwa Nsuaem Municipality, has urged expectant mothers to attend antenatal clinic regularly for safe delivery.
She revealed that “in Tarkwa and its environs many pregnant women prefer staying at prayer camps, we are not against that, you can be there, but when your time is up for your antenatal session make sure you attend.”
Mrs Kudom gave the advice when the Gold Fields Ghana Foundation (GFGF) observed the World Prematurity Day with pregnant women at New Atuabo, Huniso and Awudua health centres.
World Prematurity Day falls on November 17, every year, and it is celebrated to raise awareness about the challenges faced by pre-term babies and their families.
She said research suggested that sex during pregnancy could soften the cervix and potentially aid in labour preparation.
“That is the reason why we encourage pregnant women to have sex with their partners, if they do not have any health implications,” she added.
Mrs Kudom appealed to the GFGF to upgrade the New Atuabo health centre as the current structure was too small because they received many patients daily.
Madam Ayishetu Mohammed, Project Coordinator for GFGF, explained that they received donations from Project C. U. R. E and the items were given to health facilities in their operational area.
She stated that they noticed there were baby dresses, sanitary pads, and baby apparel, so they decided to distribute them among expectant mothers in three of their host communities.
Madam Mohammed said because the foundation was interested in preventive care, they brought a midwife from the Tarkwa Mine hospital to educate the pregnant women.
She extolled the midwives in New Atuabo health centre for the education they gave to the pregnant women and implored them to heed to the advice given during antenatal visits to reduce maternal deaths in the Tarkwa Nsuaem and Prestea Huni-Valley Municipalities.
Mr Paa Kwasi Egan, Deputy Chief Physician Assistance, emphasised that a pregnant woman being anemic meant she was not eating a balance diet, and added that, “Some of these women do not have money to buy food or visit antenatal clinics.”
He said when men follow their wives for antenatal visits, they would be educated extensively on why they should provide funds for their pregnant wives.
Mr Egan, therefore, encouraged all men to be involved in their pregnant wives’ antenatal care appointments so they could learn more about pregnancy, childbirth, and parenting. – GNA
