News
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
News
Sunon Asogli: IPPs yet to reach an agreement with govt – Apetorgbor
Independent power producer Sunon Asogli Power (Ghana) Limited has rejected accusations from the government of acting in bad faith, following remarks by Finance Minister Dr. Mohammed Amin Adam criticizing the company for shutting down its 560-megawatt power plant amid ongoing debt negotiations.
Sunon Asogli, in a statement on October 16, announced the plant’s closure, attributing the decision to the Electricity Company of Ghana’s (ECG) significant outstanding debt of $259 million, excluding fuel costs, as of September 2024.
The unpaid amount created severe financial strain for the power producer, hindering its ability to maintain normal operations.
The shutdown led to widespread power outages across various parts of Ghana, with many communities experiencing unreliable electricity supply.
In response, the government moved quickly to renegotiate terms with Sunon Asogli to restore stability to the national power grid.
Sunon Asogli maintains that the plant’s closure was a necessary action due to escalating operational costs and insufficient working capital.
Dr. Elikplim Apetorgbor, CEO of the Independent Power Producers’ Association, defended Sunon Asogli’s decision, contending that the government had not upheld its financial commitments, which left the company with few options.
The company’s leadership reiterated that they remain open to negotiations to find a lasting solution to the debt issue and ensure consistent power supply across the country.
“I am not aware when we have agreed to sign restructuring terms with anyone. We are still negotiating. No one goes into a negotiation to lose. It is always a win-win affair. And he [Amin Adam] has always maintained a position that if you will not accept this, I am not going to pay you. And even if we are signing, what it means is that we have reached a meeting point. But to the best of my knowledge, there is nothing like that. We are not there yet.
“He [the Finance Minister] has promised countless times to make payment to Sunon Asogli but he has not honoured those obligations or those promises. But today he’s saying that somebody is acting in bad faith. What is worse than that? You owe me about $259 million.
“Give me $60 million out of that for us to negotiate about the $2 million. And you are saying this is bad faith. We are faced with a challenge. We lack the working capital to resume operation or to continue operation.”
Source: citinewsroom.com/
News
CONFIRMED: GFP’s presidential candidate Akua Donkor passes on
A family source has confirmed that the presidential candidate of the Ghana Freedom Party, Akua Donkor has passed on.
She died on Monday night at the Ridge Hospital in Accra, according to the family source.
She first reported at the Nsawam Government Hospital in the Eastern Region with respiratory issues.
She was referred to the Greater Accra Regional Hospital (Ridge Hospital) in Accra.
She reportedly got to Ridge around 7pm and by 10pm on Monday, she was gone.
Madam Akua Donkor was personally present at an Inter Party Advisory Committee (IPAC) meeting in Accra last two weeks, where she gained public attention for expressing her unhappiness with what she termed as derogatory comments about her qualifications as a presidential candidate for Election 2024.
She was particularly not happy with what she said was continuous derogatory remarks about her qualification as a presidential candidate, considering she was not educated in a school classroom.
Madam Akua Donkor founded the GFP in 2011 and got it registered in 2012.
This was after she attempted an election as an Assembly member a number of times and failed at her native Kwabre in the Ashanti Region.
In 2004, she filed to contest as a Member of Parliament at Kwabre East in the Ashanti Region and competed with the late Emmanuel Owusu Ansah, a former Judicial Secretary and former Ashanti Regional Minister.
After two unsuccessful elections in 2004 and 2008 as an MP, and determined to move her political career a notch higher, she moved up into the presidential race and formed the GFP in 2011.
She filed to contest the 2024 presidential elections on the ticket of the GFP and has been attending all IPAC meetings herself.
With her passing, her running mate in 2024 presidential election, Kwabena Agyeman Appiah Kubi known in the media as Roman Fada, is now expected to step into her shoes.
Source: www.graphic.com.gh
