Fixing the country is a good cause, it is a good thing – Amoako-Attah concedes

Mr Kwasi Amoako-Attah, Minister of Roads and Highways, has conceded that the call on the government to ‘Fix The Country’ is just one but that it requires the active contribution of all citizens. Amoako-Attah, whiles inspecting some newly built road projects in Accra lamented how some drivers were flouting laid-down regulations relative to help maintain the roads. A visibly angry minister who was leading a team from the ministry accosted a truck driver who was repairing his vehicle in the middle of the road instead of having it towed to a repair shop. He charged that people like the driver and others are those who will go around calling on the government to fix the country. “You are the very people who will go around and call on the government to fix the country. “You people go round and ask the government to fix the country, all of us must help. Fixing the country is a good thing, it is a good call but if the government has to fix the country, I have to help fix the country, you must also help to fix the country. It is a collective effort,” he stressed. He added that wanting the country fixed but not playing a part was counterproductive. “All must play our individual parts to fix the country. You want the country to be fixed, the road that has been constructed, you see the spillage of oil, you are destroying it.” Amoako-Atta directed consultants of the project that “any vehicle that breaks down on the road, don’t allow them to repair it on the road because apart from causing inconvenience to the motorist and the danger it poses, the oil spillage from such broken-down vehicles affects the asphalt which is at a great cost to the government. “Under no circumstance should any truck or vehicle be repaired in the middle of the road,” the Roads Minister stressed, and stayed on the Tema Beach Road until the vehicle moved from the road. Mr Bonne Acquah, Resident Engineer and Consultant, Lot 2, La Beach Road Completion Project, who was on-site at the time of the Minister’s visit, said efforts to get the truck off the road had initially proved futile but had to be immediately repaired. He, however, expressed satisfaction with the progress of work on the Second Phase of the project. About the #FixTheCountry movement #FixTheCountry has in the last few months symbolized a rallying cry by young Ghanaians for the government to take steps to improve the economy whiles also demanding accountability. What started as a social media hashtag quickly metamorphosed into demonstrations that have since been held in different parts of the country. Government admitted that there were concrete concerns by activists and said it was working to address those concerns. SARA/PEN