From Damian Avevor, Ho
An appeal has gone to Government to speed up the construction of the Eastern Corridor Road which is in a deplorable state affecting the economic activity of the areas concerned.
In a Communique after its 2017 Plenary Assembly at Ho, the Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference (GCBC), stated that the poor state of the road was not only affecting economic activities but had enormous health and development implications.
The Bishops said the road posed a great danger to the lives of motorists, traders and tourists.
Recently, Chiefs in the Volta Region called on the government to complete the Eastern corridor roads started by the previous government.
Five contractors were awarded the contracts, most of whom later abandoned the projects after government failed to meet their payment obligations.
There are seven lots awarded to five contractors on the Volta Region portion of the Eastern corridor road. They are Asikuma to Have (45km) and Have-Hohoe, awarded to G.S International Developers; Hohoe-Jasikan (27 km) to Messrs Rollider, Dodo-Pepesu to Nkwanta (45km) to Messrs Kanazoe Limited, Nkwanta-Sibi (45km) to Messrs China Jiangxi Limited and Sibi-Oti Damanko (12km) to First Sky Limited.
The road that stretches from Asikuma to Nkwanta, for instance, is in a very bad state and needed urgent attention.
On Nkonya-Alavanyo conflict, the Bishops also expressed displeasure about it, saying that various steps towards a peaceful resolution seemed not to bear fruit.
The two communities have been fighting over a parcel of land with each of them claiming to be its rightful owners.
According to the Bishops, it was sad people continue to die on both sides of the divide, live in fear while farming and employment avenues were on the decline.
They called on all parties to the on-going conflicts in Nkonya-Alavanyo and Bimbilla to smoke the peace pipe and work for reconciliation.
The Bishops entreated the Government to open up employment avenues in these areas to engage the youth on both sides with the belief that it would dissuade them from engaging in activities detrimental to peace efforts.
Welcoming the Bishops to the Plenary Assembly, Most Rev. Emmanuel Kofi Fianu, Bishop of Ho, lamented the bad nature of roads in the Diocese especially the eastern corridor and called for the early construction and completion of it, hoping that it would become the flagship of the Region.
He said since most of the population live in rural areas and were farmers, an improvement in this sector by means of easy access to technical and financial resources would go a long way to improve the lives of the people.
