PWDs to man toll booth collection – Road Minister

“We have experimented and practicallized the toll collection at various toll booth on our roads by Persons With Disability (PWDs) and it has so far proved very efficient,” these are the words of the Roads and Highways Minister, Kwesi Amoko-Atta when he took his turn at government’s ‘Meet the Press’ session at the Ministry of Information.

He said as at July 2017, Seventy four (74) PWDs were engaged by the ministry in receiving and issuing tickets and the figure shot up by 19 as of October in same year bringing the total to 93 PWDs.

Kwesi Amoako-Atta said, “We’re hopeful to attain a 100 percent people living with Disability collecting toll on our roads due to their efficiency” and this will serve as a source of income for them to be independent.

The minister in his address on 22 January stated that all roads started under the NPP government as well as those that have been abandoned will be completed.

He was of the view that “any road that’s uncompleted is not useful to the people” adding that President Akufo-Addo has tasked all ministries to ensure full completion of all incomplete infrastructure projects inherited and currently awarded by his government.

Meet the Press series, an initiative by the Ministry of Information is aimed at frequently briefing the media and updating Ghanaians on government’s programs and projects by the various ministries.

The Road and Highway ministry took its turn led by the sector minister Kwesi Amoako-Atta who expressed hope that the Two billion dollars ($2 billion) Sinohydro Corporation Limited agreement signed by government will see a total facelift of the road sector infrastructure as it will engineer works on 442km of roads across the country.

According to him, “All the ten regions including the six newly created regions will have their fair share of road projects and by the time the president is done in his remaining two years tenure, Ghanaians will appreciate what it means when we say we’re changing Ghana”.

He emphasised the need for pedestrians to make use of the Adenta footbridge when it’s finally completed by April 2019 and other footbridges to help curb the needles knockdown and death been recorded on our roads.

A statistical breakdown revealed 77% of roads in the country are unpaved (no bitumen) out of a total road network size of 72,381km.

Roads graded as good is 39%, fair roads 32% while 29% are in very poor conditions.

He said he is aware of some non motorable road conditions and he’s working with his team of engineers and technocrats to solving the bad road network in the country.

Bad roads in Ghana has become a challenge to Persons with Disability as their movement is hindered making. PWDs have been neglected and discriminated against over the years despite the Disability Act 715 passed in 2006 has not fully approved of what its intention was since many buildings and roads remain inaccessible.