Several sites earmarked for the construction of several projects ranging from market stalls, CHPS compounds, culverts, mechanized boreholes, a butcher shop, and more were handed over to contractors for execution across several communities in the Kassena-Nankana West District of the Upper East Region.
Kassena-Nankana West District Chief Executive, Gerard Ataogye, who led a team including the District Coordinating Director, Abubakari Amadu, and other technical officers to hand over these sites to contractors, disclosed that all these projects fall under the Gulf of Guinea Northern Regions Social Cohesion (SOCO) projects.
The SOCO project is a 150 million US-Dollar World Bank loan facility procured by the Government of Ghana, for the implementation of projects in 48 metropolitan, municipal, and district assemblies in six regions, of which Kassena-Nankana West is a beneficiary. The regions are the Northern, Upper East, Upper West, Savannah, North East, and Oti Regions of Ghana.
The DCE, on the first day of the handing over sessions, handed over a site in the Sirigu community for the construction of a 2-number 16-unit market stall facility at the animal market. Secretary to the Sirigu Naba, Eden Akurugu thanked the assembly for the quick response to their request, noting that though the community had other equally important needs, the market stalls topped their list at the moment.
At the Kandiga community, a CHPS compound in Atibabiisi that had stalled at the lintel level for some years was handed over for completion. A site was handed over to Awalna Engineering Services for drilling and mechanization of a borehole with an overhead water tank at the Nabango community. The Gonum community in Mirigu will benefit from the construction of a triple 1.8-meter diameter culvert over a stream that divides the community and impedes cross-over during the rainy seasons.
In the north zone of the district, four communities in the larger Kajelo enclave, including Kachono, Navem, Kayilo, and Biba each are receiving a solar mechanized borehole to aid their dry season farming activities. Meanwhile, the site for a butcher shop project was also handed over for completion in the Paga new market.
In the west zone of the district, it is expected that sites will be handed over for the completion of a CHPS compound in Kanania, construction of a triple 1.8-meter diameter culvert in Gwenia, construction of 2-number 16-unit market stalls in Katiu and a community social center in Kayoro.
Speaking to the media, the DCE for Kassena-Nankana West, Gerard Ataogye noted that under the SOCO project, it was the communities that deliberated and chose their priority projects and not the “authorities dumping just anything on the communities”. He thus charged the chiefs, elders, and community members to own the projects and give the contractors the needed support to execute projects.
Mr. Ataogye stated that the SOCO project had also engaged community facilitators in all the beneficiary communities and also put in place community implementation committees in each cluster of communities to help supervise the works. He thus expressed hope that all these oversight layers will work together and collaborate effectively to ensure that everything results in a quality finishing that will stand the test of time.
The Upper East SOCO Zonal Engineer, Alhaji Danladi Salifu in his remarks, insisted that the contractors complete the projects within the stipulated periods and also ensure that, they employ 40 percent of women as local labor force.
The total cost for the rehabilitation of the Nakolo health center, completion of the Kandiga-Atibabiisi CHPS compound, and the rehabilitation of the Kandiga CHPS compound is pegged at 998,943.50 cedis. Of the amount, a total of 149,641.53 cedis is set aside for the payment of unskilled labor. Meanwhile, 548,007 cedis make up the total cost for the construction of four solar mechanized boreholes in the Kajelo communities and 82,201.05 cedis is budgeted for unskilled labor payments.
Source: A1Radioonline.com|101.1Mhz|Joshua Asaah|Ghana
