Bishop Weeps Over Kumasi-Accra Road

THE FOUNDER and leader of Liberty Global Christian Church, Bishop Prince Hampel has bemoaned the poor state of the Apedwa portion of the Accra-Kumasi road. He said he was worried because the nation continues to lose thousands of Ghana cedis due to the impassable nature of that stretch of road. The international evangelist in an interview with DAILY GUIDE wondered why the government had not taken pragmatic measures to address this nagging problem. Bishop Hampel contended that the number of hours travelers spent on that portion of the road due to its poor nature did not only cost the nation huge sums of money but also made their journey uncomfortable. He noted that transport owners had to spend huge sums of money maintaining their vehicles because of the bad nature of the road. The man of God stated that it was unfair for travelers who paid their taxes as citizens of the country had to go through hell when travelling from the nation�s capital to the second capital, Kumasi. Bishop Hampel indicated that it was about time President Mills realized the difficulties travelers faced, noting that the president should direct the Ministry of Roads to put the road in good shape. The International evangelist wondered why government will contend that there were no funds to speed up construction of the road when it could afford to purchase five aircrafts. Bishop Hampel enjoined President Mills to reduce the number of aircrafts the government was buying to three so that the money for the remaining two could be used for the completion of the road. �I am not against the buying of five aircrafts but if the government is saying that there are no funds to complete the road, then I will suggest we buy three aircrafts and keep the money for the remaining two to complete the road.� He stressed that using that money for the completion of the road will be more beneficial to the country. �How many of us would have the opportunity to sit in the aircrafts we are going to buy? But if the road is put in good shape, many people will benefit because many people travel by road from Accra-Kumasi and vice versa,� Bishop Hampel observed. The construction of the Accra-Kumasi road was started by the erstwhile New Patriotic Party (NPP) administration under the headship of ex-President Kufuor via Internally Generated Funds (IGF). When the NPP government was leaving office on January 6, 2009, most of the road had been completed, leaving the Apedwa portion which was still under construction. Many thought that with much of the work done by the previous government, the current administration would pursue construction of the remaining portion, but for over two years into the administration of President Mills, nothing concrete has been done about it. When Ghanaians raised concerns about the non completion of the road which has brought untold hardship to road users, the government�s response was that there were no funds to continue the project.