2013 Budget Should Include Additional Footbridges On N1 Highway

Member of Parliament for Okaikoi Central constituency, Hon. Patrick Yaw Boamah has stated that the government through the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning should include the construction of footbridges on the George Walker Bush highway in the 2013 budget. The lawyer explained that the N1 highway which is popularly known as Lapaz-Achomota motor way after construction has claimed a lot of lives including school children. He advised that the government should consider additional footbridges to cut down the carnage on the highway; stressing that many productive young men are perishing through accidents which according to the Member of Parliament are affecting productivity in the country. According to the NPP MP for Okaikoi Central, so far the N1 highway has killed over 100 Ghanaians of which a lot are children, middle age and even very old people as well as police officers; adding that if this is not controlled immediately, many more will be dead. Hon. Patrick Yaw Boamah reminded that due to the recent accidents, the youth in Abeka-Lapaz decided to block the highway, but the timely intervention of the police service stopped the angry youth; adding that this was an unfortunate incident which must not be repeated, and therefore called on the government to construct footbridges at vantage places on the N1 highway. Speaking to Peacefmonline.com in an interview, lawyer Yaw Boamah hinted that a big portion of the budget should concentrate on the tourism sector which he said recorded 244 stipulated growth per month according to the Bank of Ghana report; adding that the government should focus on areas which requires little input but can yield a lot for the economy. In that score, he cited that areas like the timber, cocoa, mines and oil sectors which do not require much input should be given the needed interest to help boost the economy; in that the government has wasted a lot of money on unnecessary things which do not add direct income to cushion the economy. He however suggested that the government should come out with major projects and programs which will create more jobs for the people in various communities. Touching on the free laptops promised Parliamentarians in the State of the Nation Address, Hon. Yaw Boamah said that what the President said was a mere populace statement; as every Member of Parliament could afford any kind of laptop they wanted. He reiterated that the laptops are needed by the children and those in the rural areas in order to educate them. �The focus must be on education and also supporting the rural folks and those who really need the laptops,� he advised. The Millennium Development Authority (MIDA) has said it will soon build four more foot bridges on the George Walker Bush Highway with two at the Lapaz section of the N1 Highway to curb the frequent accidents on the highway.