Governs Kwame Agbodza, the Minister of Roads and Highways has reiterated that the Government’s flagship programme on infrastructure development, the Big Push Agenda has created thousands of jobs.

“At the last count, almost half a million jobs have been created through the various supply chains of the contractors,” Agbodza stated in his remarks during President John Dramani Mahama’s inspection of ongoing construction works on the Jinijini-Sampa Road.

According to him, “Some contractors actually have over 1,000 staff on their operations and we want to thank all those contractors who continue, especially to hire new graduates from the universities, the country surveyors, the engineers and all of them. We want to encourage you."

“Indeed, when we come to you on site, we are going to be trying to find out how many new people, did you take on as part of President Mahama’s Big Push project,” he said.

“So, hire from the community. Let the carpenters, the masons, the cooks and everybody come from the communities here. So, it is not just a road you are building, you are leaving something in this community that the people will be happy about,” he added.

The first time we met on this road, we met in a town ahead, one night at a time we thought the project was awarded on contract. It

On the Jinijini-Sampa road, Agbodza said the first contractor who was awarded the contract was not properly mobilized to work and so President Mahama directed that the project be made a Big Push Project because as of that time there was no known definite source of funding for the project so it was not going to be done.

He noted that President Mahama would complete the project on time and that it would be asphalt surfacing.

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“The state of our roads by the time President Mahama took office was very terrible including this road,” the Roads Minister stated.

“So, we needed to take certain steps to urgently activate work on this project. As a result, we have to go through a quicker process of procurement and get contractors on site to make sure we finish this project,” he added.

He gave the assurance that they had mechanisms within the management of the project to make sure that no contractor gets a cedis without working for it.

“We can guarantee you that and the quality will not be less than what President Mahama directed us to do. So, we are appealing to everybody to support Big Push.”

He said all the contractors under Big Push were currently on site.

“I can tell that some people (contractors) have done 50 per cent of the work already. This year we shall hand over some of the projects, and I want to take the opportunity to appeal to Big Push contractors,” he said.

“If you were to raise work certificate today by the end of this month, you will be paid.”

He said the President made a commitment to that and he was fulfilling that.

“We started paying every Big Push work certificate yesterday. So, there’s no reason to be worried that you will not be paid.” He added.

Agbodza reiterated that the Big Push Project was not just a road project.

“In fact, when you made me a minister and you asked me to go around the country and see for myself before we make an intervention. Indeed, when we travel on this road, it is one of the most pathetic roads in the country. Sacks of cashew stuck by the roadside.” The Minister said, ”

He noted that one hardly sees any truck coming to pass through the road.

“Then you ask yourself, how is the farmer going to be able to get his investment? In other words, people were actually investing and not getting their money back.”

He said the Jinijini-Sampa Road when completed would generate more jobs, create value in the community, and make their people have a better standard of living.

Agbodza said President Mahama would make history by significantly transforming the road network across the country.

The inspection of the Jinijini-Sampa road forms part of the President’s two-day tour of the Bono Region to inspect ongoing projects, cutting sods for the construction of new ones and commissioning completed ones.