The Majority Leader in Parliament, Mr Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, has announced that work will soon begin on the deplorable Bole-Sawla-Wa road this year.
Announcing this at Sombo in the Nadowli-Kaleo District of the Upper West Region on Thursday, he stated that Parliament had agreed for the government to secure a US$250-million loan facility for the project.
“Government has already secured US$15 million of the amount for the first phase of the project and sod will soon be cut by the Roads and Highways Minister, Mr Kwesi Amoako Atta, and his entourage for the work to officially commence,” he stated.
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, together with other parliamentarians as well as staff of Parliament, joined the Speaker of Parliament, Mr Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin and some bigwigs of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) to hold a thanksgiving service to appreciate God and the people for his current position.
The Majority Leader, who doubles as the Minister for Parliamentary Affairs, explained that Parliament would bond in order to work harmoniously towards the development of the nation irrespective of their political orientations, citing the fact that the approval of the loan facility for the road project was a clear indication of their willingness to overlook their differences and advance the development of the nation.
Touching on the life of the Speaker, the Majority Leader stated that he had weathered all odds to rise to his current position via an exciting and exemplary political career.
“Mr Bagbin was able to reach here as a result of education which he pursued amidst very daunting circumstances; there were not enough schools like there are now, there was no feeding grant among others, yet he made it through school successfully,” he said and encouraged the youth to emulate same by attaching seriousnessto their education.
The Minority Leader, Mr Haruna Iddrisu, used the platform to declare that the Minority in Parliament had not reneged on its role of scrutinising government as being bandied around by some people.
“The last few days has not been easy for some of us as leaders of the minority and even for the Speaker in the midst of several accusations but we have to remember that even as our positions in Parliament were made successful as a result of our association with our respective political parties, we owe it a responsibility to the people of Ghana to discharge our mandate with fairness and transparency,” he explained.
He, however, assured the public that with the use of dialogue, compromises and negotiations, Parliament would be able to make decisions that would benefit Ghanaians.
“We will make Parliament a more responsive, accountable and transparent institution that willprioritise the development of the country,” he added.
FROM LYDIA DARLINGTON FORDJOUR, SOMBO