By Emmanuel Mensah-Abludo & Seidu Bomanjo
The European Union (EU) and the government of Ghana have commissioned a 670-kilometre feeder road network funded by the EU in the Upper West Region.
The 35-million-Euro project connects some municipalities and districts in the Upper West. The project, which has Wa, Wa West, Nadowli-Kaleo, Jirapa, Lawra, Daffiama Bussie Issa (DBI), Nandom, and Lambussie-Karni beneficiaries, is geared towards connecting agricultural communities to market centres so as to improve easy access to markets for farmers as well as the region’s transport system.
The occasion saw the EU Ambassador to Ghana and other officials from the EU, Ministers, District and Municipal Chief Executives, and other stakeholders such as PRONET North and community members in attendance.
The EU Ambassador to Ghana, Irchad Razaaly, who commissioned the project in DBI, touched on the challenges of the Upper West Region in respect to poor road networks, even though it is one of the most beautiful and industrious regions in Ghana; hence, the intervention of the EU to surmount the poor road network challenge.
Mr Razaaly indicated that he was honoured to be part of the commissioning of the 670-kilometre feeder roads by the EU in partnership with the Ghanaian government, which he described as a great milestone in the Upper West aimed at ensuring socio-economic transformation.
Hammering on the significance of the road project by the EU, he stated that the roads are geared towards linking farming communities to market centres to ensure safe transportation of farm produce and reduce traveling time.
He added that the project also included the renovation of sixteen solar-powered Community-based Health Planning and Services (CHPS) compounds fitted with boreholes. This, according to the EU Ambassador, is to improve healthcare delivery in the beneficiary communities. Mr Razaaly stated that road rehabilitation is one component of the EU Global Gateway Initiative, while the other 132 million Euro component is under the European Union-Ghana Agricultural Programme (EU-GAP), which aims at enhancing sustainable agriculture in the Upper West Region.
The Upper West Regional Minister, Stephen Yakubu, who gave the welcome address, expressed gratitude to the EU for supporting Ghana in general and the Upper West Region in particular. He said the project will transform the beneficiary communities and the region at large because the rehabilitated roads will improve mobility and other sectors such as education, health, and commerce.
The Minister for Roads and Highways, Francis Asenso Boakye, reiterated the importance of the project to the people of the Upper West Region, saying it will ensure a 55% reduction in travel time across the region and create about 3000 jobs for people in the catchment areas of the project, which included women, therefore bridging the gender gap in employment in the region.
He announced that the government of Ghana is engaging the European Union to extend the road rehabilitation project to the 300km feeder roads in the Sisaala area and the rest of the Upper West Region.
The Minister for Finance, Dr. Mohammed Amin Adam, acknowledged the EU’s general support for the government of Ghana in areas of general reforms, public finance management, decentralisation, agriculture, education, and employment.
According to him, EU’s support is evident in the allocation of 293 million Euros under the Ghana 2021–2027 multiannual programme. Dr Amin Adam also underscored the importance of the feeder roads project in terms of easy accessibility and urged the EU to extend the project to the rest of the Upper West Region.
