Ministers proclaim President's legacy projects

Ministers of state on Thursday took turns to enlist series of development projects and programmes the government has executed to provide employment opportunities for the teeming unemployed youth and improve quality of lives of the people.

Sector ministers or their deputies declared infrastructural projects and rolled out programmes across the nation that they say were in fulfillment of President John Dramani Mahama’s vision of leaving behind a legacy of massive infrastructural development comparable to first President Dr Kwame Nkrumah.

Speaking at Greater Accra Edition of government forum for the people dubbed: “People matter! You matter! everybody matters!,” Mrs Joyce Bawa-Mogtari, Deputy-Minister of Transport said government was set to revamp the Railway, Aviation, Ports and Road Transport areas to meet modern standards and promote economic viability of the country.

Mrs Bawa-Mogtari said government has procured 200 buses and is set to resuscitate the defunct intercity transport company.

She added that President Mahama’s administration is committed to develop a modern complimentary transport system and would therefore invest more in the railway sector to bring it back to fruition.

According to her there are five domestic airlines, 11 regional ones and 41 international air fleets operating in the country and government is unwavering to improve and make Ghana the hub of international airline.

“The ministry is to deepen depths of ports to facilitate activities in ports…the Tema, Takoradi and Boankra ports projects are on course to generate robust economic activities,” she said.

Ms Sherry Ayittey, Minister of Fisheries said Ghana consumes 950,000 tons of fish per year but could produce only 450,000 tons, leaving a deficit of 500,000.

She said the average Ghanaian also consumes 24 kilograms of fish in a year but 16 kilograms is required.

In addressing the deficit, she said government is building fisheries college at Anomabo in the Central Region and is also set to build three fishing harbours and 25 fishing landing sites along the coast and beaches.

Government is also building fish processing factory in Elmina and modern seven cold storages, Ms Ayittey said.

Ms Ayittey said 12,000 canoes have also been registered to streamline fishing in the waters.

On his turn, Road and Highways Minister, Alhaji Inusah Fuseini dismissed claims in political fronts and media circles, that the Kasoa interchange was overvalued, describing the allegation as “political opportunism and full of innuendos.”

He said the Kasoa Interchange is infused with the construction of 10 boreholes, 12 schools in surrounding areas, and rehabilitation of Kasoa Polyclinic and trunk routes linking major towns as well as improve the pedestrian walkways.

Alhaji Inusah noted that the composition of the interchange is not comparable to the N1 High way, saying, “it is unfair and unreasonable for those who ought to know better to have made such innuendo without cross-checking the facts”.