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WORK on seven major development projects in the Birim Central Municipality in the Eastern Region aimed at giving the municipality a facelift has begun.

They include tarring of the Akyem Aboabo and Oda-Nkwanta town roads, the construction of 18-bed capacity maternity ward for the Oda Government Hospital and an administration block for Oda St. Francis Senior High School (SHS), as well as a Kindergarten (KG) block for Oda El-Shaddai Basic School.

Others are a CHPS compound at Oda Community 6 and the second phase of the Bonka Agyei storm drain at Oda Old Town.

$1 million per constituency

The projects, which together cost an estimated GH¢ 5 Million, are being funded under the $1 million per constituency projects for the 2019 and 2020 fiscal year and are being managed by the Middle Belt Development Authority.

The Member of Parliament (MP) for Oda, Mr William Agyapong Quaittoo, and the Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) for Birim Central, Ms Victoria Adu, jointly cut sod at separate functions last Friday for the commencement of the projects.

Speeches

Mr Quaittoo said his office used a portion of the $1 million per constituency for 2017 to provide potable water for Akyem Gyadam, Essam and Oda-Nkwanta, and also built three modern toilets in Oda.

He said for 2018, an amount out of the constituency fund was used in the first phase construction of the Bonka Agyei storm drain at Oda Old Town.

He said the Oda town roads were currently being overlaid with asphalt and that the works would be extended to also cover the streets within the Oda Government Hospital.

Also during the occasion, Mr Quaittoo introduced Mr Alexander Akwasi Acquah as the New Patriotic Party (NPP) parliamentary candidate for the Oda Constituency in the general elections in December and urged the electorate to vote massively for Mr Acquah and President Akufo-Addo in order for Oda to improve further.

The MCE commended Mr Quaittoo for lobbying for high grade projects for the municipality, particularly in the field of education.

She said President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo had fulfilled most of the promises he made to raise the standard of living of the masses and urged Ghanaians to give the NPP another term in office to continue with their good works.

Advice to contractors

Ms Adu advised the contractors executing the seven projects to not only do works of quality but must also strive to complete them on schedule.

She said a technical team from the assembly would pay regular visits and monitor the progress of work on the projects to make sure they were of standard.

She also mentioned that the assembly was in the process of building a decent female cell at the Oda Municipal Police Headquarters.

For his part, Mr Acquah reiterated his promise to use his share of the District Assemblies Common Fund to sponsor development projects in all the electoral areas in the Oda Constituency when elected as the MP.

The Krontihene of the Akyem Kotoku Traditional Area, Obrempong Gyamfi Saforo Kyereh, asked the government and the municipal assembly not to hesitate in blacklisting any contractor who did shoddy work and encouraged the people to consider giving the government for four more years in power.