Tamale, Nov. 14, GNA - The Cabinet sub-committee of the Ghana CAN 2008 stadium projects on Tuesday expressed satisfaction with the progress of work on the Tamale sports stadium and other facilities in the Metropolis but urged the contractors to ensure that they complete the work on schedule.

Mr. Felix Owusu-Adjapong, Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Chairman of the Committee, who led a six-member delegation on a familiarization tour of the structures in Tamale and Kumasi on Tuesday, expressed this sentiment on behalf of the members.

The members included Papa Owusu-Ankomah, Minister of Education, Science and Sports, Mr. Kwamena Bartels, Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mr. Stephen Asamoah-Boateng, Minister of Local Government, Rural Development and Environment and Mr. Joe Ghartey, Attorney General and Minister of Justice.

The Committee inspected the 20,000-seater capacity stadium, a four-storey hostel facility at the Tamale Polytechnic and two other three-storey enhanced hostels at the Tamale campus of the University for Development Studies (UDS).

The hostels would be handed over to the authorities of the Polytechnic and the UDS to accommodate students after the Ghana CAN 2008 soccer fiesta.

Mr. Owusu-Adjapong, who is also the Majority Leader in Parliament, said "In fact, we are overwhelmed by the fast rate at which the work is going on and we believe that the contractors would actually honour their words and complete the projects before schedule".

At the Tamale stadium construction site, the members expressed their happiness with the speed the Chinese contractors were working and appealed to them to lend their expertise to the Ghanaian artisans to enable them undertake similar projects in future.

Mr. Owusu-Adjapong expressed the hope that when the works were completed before or on schedule, it would save the government money to embark on other development projects for the communities. He appealed to journalists in the Northern Region to constantly monitor and report on the projects to enable Cabinet acquaint itself with the progress of work.

Alhaji Mustapha Ali Idris, the Northern Regional Minister who led members of the Committee to inspect the projects sites, expressed gratitude that the people of Tamale would continue to enjoy the fruits of the CAN 2008 enterprise.

He said the region was now a haven for business due to the prevailing peace and urged the people particularly the chiefs to commit themselves to continue to seek an enduring peace to facilitate development in the area.

Alhaji Idris called on the government not to relent in its efforts at bringing development to the region to break the cycle of poverty. Papa Owusu-Ankomah told the GNA Sports after the tour in Tamale that: "It is good that the Ghana CAN 2008 has provided the people of Tamale and its surroundings a modern stadium and gone a long way at assisting the area with educational facilities".

He appealed to the people to monitor the work of the contractors and give them the necessary support to facilitate the early completion of the projects. 14 Nov. 06