Absence of Volta Regional roads from 2020 budget an obvious mistake – Osafo Maafo

Following concerns over the absence of road projects for the Volta Region in the 2020 budget, Senior Minister, Yaw Osafo Maafo says there was a mistake in the document.

“It was obviously a mistake,” the Minister explained on the Citi Breakfast Show on Thursday noting that he was also taken aback by the omission.

A Deputy Finance Minister, Charles Adu Boahen, yesterday also said he was surprised about the omission of the Volta Region in the distribution of the road projects in the 2020 budget.

Mr. Osafo Maafo said he has since conferred with the sector minister who confirmed that there was indeed a list of Volta Region roads.

“When I also saw it, I asked myself, how could it be because there were 15 regions instead of 16 and I asked him [the sector minister] and he said we have a whole list for the Volta Region.”

Mr. Osafo Maafo also said that the Eastern Corridor road was due to receive attention in 2020.

“For the whole Eastern Corridor road we are doing, most parts of it will be done in 2020. A lot of the Eastern Corridor road passes through the Volta Region so you cannot talk about roads in 2020 without talking about the Volta Region.”

He also cited the Volivo bridge and all roads associated with the bridge, adding that therefore “it cannot be so that there are no roads in the Volta Region.”

The Volivo 540m bridge will run across the Volta River on the Eastern Corridor Road.

Year of roads

The Finance Minister in delivering the 2020 budget statement stressed a focus fixing roads across the country in 2020 and beyond.

“To get the road sector moving and contractors back to work, government will pay 80% of all contractors,” the Finance Minister said,

The government has also identified what it described as “critical roads” across each of the 16 regions in the country.

The Finance Minister also said Cocobod has also secured funds to continue with ongoing and new cocoa roads.

Source: citinewsroom.com