The Ministry of Roads and Highways has announced that it has taken the necessary steps to address the poor road conditions leading to petroleum tanker yards across the country.
According to Nasir Ahmad Yartey, the Public Relations Officer of the Ministry, who spoke during an interview on Eyewitness News on Citi FM, the Tema Oil Refinery road, which sparked the recent protest, was already undergoing repairs. However, the work was interrupted by heavy rainfall, rendering the road impassable.
Yartey explained, “I want to clarify that the road in question has an ongoing widening project by a contractor. The initial challenge was that the construction of culverts and drainage systems needed to be completed before the main road construction could commence. Unfortunately, due to the onset of the rainy season, the contractor was unable to begin this preliminary work.”
The Ministry’s disclosure follows the decision by the Ghana National Petroleum Tanker Drivers Union and the Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG) Tanker Drivers to suspend their sit-down strike, which was initiated to protest against the poor road conditions.
Yartey further stated that additional machinery will be deployed to the construction sites to expedite the road repairs and enhance the movement of trucks. He said, “The contractor will increase the number of machines working on the road and initiate measures to improve the road surface. It will take approximately three weeks to enhance the road surface during this rainy season.
Subsequently, the main road will be reconstructed according to the specifications in the contract, which is expected to take about six months. The contractor is committed to adhering to this work schedule.”
Raymond Aflo, the secretary of the Ghana National Petroleum Drivers Union, expressed that the suspension of the strike is contingent upon the government and the contractor demonstrating a genuine commitment to remaining on-site until the road repairs are fully completed.
Source – citinewsroom.com
