Expansion of Tema Motorway is a failed promise of successive govts

The Tema motorway has deteriorated and now a death trap with high traffic growth and encroachment.

The state of the Accra-Tema motorway can be described as criminal negligence of the highest order on the part of those responsible for its maintenance.

Tema motorway potholes Pulse Ghana

Government has neglected the maintenance of the motorway to the extent that potholes on the roads have now become death traps and claiming the lives of motorists and pedestrians at a worrying rate.

In 2012, under the government of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), the former Minister for Roads and Highways, Joe Gidisu revealed that the Tema motorway will see massive expansion under the John Mahama administration to ease traffic.

He said: "There will be a three-lane carriage way from the Tema roundabout up to the Shai hills."

That promise by Joe Gidisu under the NDC government failed.

In 2015, the former Finance Minister, Seth Terkper also promised to Ghanaians that plans are ongoing to construct roads from the Tema port to the motorway.

But that promise of expanding the road by the NDC has not come to fruition since 2012.

Under the current government of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), appointees of the President seem to promise Ghanaians who ply the road of new hope.

The Ministry of Roads And Highways in 2017 vowed to evict squatters dotted along the Accra-Tema Motorway.

It is expected to complete the exercise before April 2018, to pave way for the expansion of the highway but squatters residing along the Motorway are still there.

Tema motorway Pulse Ghana

This was an earlier indication given by the sector minister, Kwasi Amoako-Atta, that the move will ensure a quick expansion of the motorway.

The expansion of the motorway to six lanes is a 30-month-long project.

On Friday, January 25, 2019, the sector again gave an assurance that the four-lane Tema Motorway will be expanded.

He said the NPP government was committed to surmounting the obstacles of massive encroachment of the reserve zone to rebuilding the roads from the Tema port to the Motorway.

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He made this known during a tour of some project sites in Accra with a team including Anthony Karbo, one of his deputies, and some directors of agencies under the Ministry.

Amoako Atta cautioned property development agencies and individuals to desist from building on and close to road reserve zones and stated that the government would deal ruthlessly with institutions and individuals who flout the law.

He said: "This generation is scrambling for resources and using nature unsustainably as if there is no tomorrow. If Dr Nkrumah and our forefathers behaved this way, we would have been left with nothing.

Ghanaians await to see if the expansion promised by the Minister will be fulfilled before the 2020 elections.

Out of the 14,000 persons who fall victim to road crashes in Ghana annually, 2000 of them lose their lives.

The deaths and injuries associated with road crashes were not an individual and family issue but a national tragedy which must be tackled collectively.

Some Ghanaians see the construction of a National Cathedral by the current government as a misplaced priority.

We have challenges facing the country and the construction of a Cathedral cannot be priority among priorities.

Some urged the government to suspend the construction or it will invite all Ghanaians to campaign against it to protect the national purse and use the money to construct the roads to reduce road accidents especially the Tema motorway.

Another clear case of waste and non transparent government is the Smarttys bus branding under the NDC which cost the country GH¢3.6 million for 116 Metro Mass Transit (MMT) which could be used to construct parts of the Motorway and one will count the revenues lost in the erstwhile administration.

The drone delivery services which received parliamentary approval is also seen as a misplaced priority by some Ghanaians because of the challenges confronting the health sector.

They could not understand why we have inadequate ambulances and yet we had parliament approving a needless deal.

Ghana also lacks access to adequate hospitals and yet we had parliament approving a drone deal in a rush instead of expanding our roads before we prioritise a drone.

Parliamentarians were slammed for rushing to approve the deal and failing to give same prominence to the Right to Information Bill (RTI) after many years but found it necessary to rush the drone deal through.

Ghana Post GPS cash could be used to construct the motorway

The opposition took Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia to the cleaners, following some utterances he made prior to the launch of the country's digital address system also known as Ghana Post GPS.

The NDC believes Bawumia deceived Ghanaians when he said the $2.5 million worth system will be more advanced than those used in the UK and United States of America.

The Global Positioning System (GPS), which was launched as Ghana's official digital property addressing system has been described as a scam and fraud deliberately schemed by members of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) government to steal from the tax payer.

Vokacom was awarded a $2.5million (GH¢9.99million) contract to build the controversial Ghana Post GPS which has already betrayed many faults.

After two years of the launch, how many Ghanaians have downloaded the App on their phones whilst the money could be channeled to expand the motorway.

I personally invite users of the Motorway to join me in campaigning for the construction of the 19-kilometre highway or stop paying toll to the government.