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Former President John Agyekum Kufuor Hon. Ministers of State Hon. Members of Parliament Your Excellency Ambassador Tittelbum Mr Daniel Yohannes, CEO of the Millennium Challenge Corporation Mr. Alan Patricof, Member of the MCC Board of Directors, Officials of the Millennium Development Corporation Our Traditional Rulers Distinguished Guests Ladies and Gentlemen: I am delighted to be part of this ceremony, which marks the completion of works and the handing over of the Tetteh Quarshie-Mallam Road Section of the N.1 Highway. This laudable MCA Program is a dividend for good governance, continued investment in the people and the deepening of economic empowerment. We are gathered here because of the kind gestured of the MCC in granting Ghana US$ 547m which has resulted in the construction of this 14.1km road Corridor. I am informed that this is the first urban-based Road Project undertaken by the MCC, and we appreciate it very much. The people of Ghana join me in expressing our deepest appreciation to the United States for the continued commitment to a strong bond of friendship between our two countries and thank the MCC for the realisation of this dream. In appreciation of this kind gesture, I have endorsed the decision to name this Motorway after GEORGE WALKER BUSH, the then President of the United States, who initiated the MCA Program. Ladies and gentlemen, since we took over the reins of leadership, a significant focus of our national development agenda has been the improvement in the quality of life of our people. This Administration views the accelerated provision of better road infrastructure as a right, which every Ghanaian living in the urban or rural areas of this country must have. Our consistent efforts to remove disparities between rural and urban roads infrastructure can be gauged from the many kilometres of feeder and trunk roads currently being reconstructed in many parts of the country. Let me assure all, that the momentum, which our road development agenda has gathered will continue. We pledged to invest heavily in expanding infrastructure, and it is manifestly clear that we are holding on to that pledge. Indeed, Ghana has recently contracted a $3 billion Chinese facility which will be used to give more meaning to our infrastructure expansion agenda; especially in relation to benefiting optimally from our oil and gas find. I specially acknowledge the presence of Mr. Daniel Yohannes, the CEO of the MCC and Mr Alan Patricof, a member of the MCC�S Board Of Directors, and thank them for re-selecting Ghana for a 2nd 5-year Compact Program. Apart from road infrastructure expansion, the first Compact also supported, rural farmers and rural market groups. The Compact has also supported in the provision of schools and water in some of our rural communities and we are grateful. We can assure you that the lessons learnt on the first Compact will be fully applied on this second Compact, which I am informed will be signed before the end of this year. Ladies and gentlemen, this is a major investment which we must all preserve. I am appealing to all of us to support the Road Agencies and the City Authorities to preserve the quality of this magnificent extension to the Old Accra-Tema Motorway. Information I have has it that some persons who have been resettled and compensated in relation to the construction of this magnificent road, are nursing plans to encroach once again on the spaces that have been reserved for future development into the BRT. Let me assure any such persons that they will not be allowed to engage in any unlawful acts. Finally, let me congratulate all the Consultants, contractors and other stakeholders who have assisted in the realisation of this dream. Once again, on behalf of the people of Ghana, I thank the United States for reselecting Ghana for the second five-year Compact, and look forward to a sustained partnership between our two countries. I thank you for your attention.