The Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, has expressed dissatisfaction at the snail pace execution of an ‘Agenda 111’ hospital project at the Kassena-Nankana West District capital Paga in the Upper East Region.
The Vice President said it was mind-boggling to see the project at the foundation stage since the contract was awarded early 2021, and impressed upon the contractors-AKOFIS Engineering and CITY Entrepreneurs-to get back to site to have the project completed on schedule.
In his view, the contractors’ inertia in fast-tracking the execution of the ‘Agenda 111’ project and other similar infrastructural projects in the district would not only erode the excellent record of the government as it heavily invested in essential infrastructure in every length and breadth of the country, but would exacerbate the suffering of the masses in that part of the country.
Dr Bawumia made these remarks when he visited the ‘Agenda 111’ project at Navio, a community under Paga, as part of his one-day tour in the region here on Friday.
“We have seen that the work being done here is not satisfactory. We need to be making more progress than this, so we are going to encourage the contractors and get the project back on schedule.
“….and we will have to meet with the contractors and get them to move back and get this project back on schedule because we are really behind schedule,” the Vice President said.
The government, he explained, was not happy that some ongoing projects in the country were not expeditiously executed, and promised that all efforts would be employed to get the contractors redouble their efforts toward the completion of the abandoned projects.
He, therefore, used the opportunity to advise the contractors to be up and doing, warning that the government would not hesitate to abrogate the contracts on account of poor quality and exhibition of little commitment to completing the projects as schedule.
At the palace of the Paramount Chief of Paga, Pe Charles AwiahAwampaga II, the Vice President promised that the government would give priority to some educational and road infrastructure in the district as requested by the chief.
PeAwampaga who spoke through his interpreter when Dr Bawumia paid a courtesy call on him, lamented the deplorable road network, coupled with a broken bridge linking Paga to Navio, Sirigu and Bolgatanga; and appealed to the government to fix it in due course as the situation dealt a big blow to farmers and traders, as they were stalled from transporting their produce to the markets.
Another major concern raised by the chief was the Girls dormitory of the Paga Community Day Senior High School (SHS), which was razed down by inferno two years ago had not been renovated, an issue he indicated, had compelled the female students to seek shelter in nearby houses in the community.
The Vice President and his entourage rounded off their tour at the C.K Tedam University of Technology and Applied Sciences in Navrongo, where he inspected the progress of work on some ongoing projects; including a hostel facility, staff accommodation, among others.
FROM FRANCIS DABRE DABANG, PAGA
