The contractor working on the main Jomoro road, Samenye barrier to Newtown, in the Western Region, has moved to the site to prepare and begin construction.
The road has been a priority for the Member of Parliament, Dorcas Affo-Toffey, since the contractors working on the Samanye Barrier to Jaway Wharf Road abandoned the project in 2020 without informing the communities or the municipal assembly.
The harrowing experience of commuters and drivers from Samenye through to the municipal capital, Half Assini, and Newtown, which borders Côte d’Ivoire in the Jomoro Municipality, was unacceptable.
In October 2020, the road was cleared for a sod-cutting ceremony for the start of work, but the contractors left the site with their equipment.
Residents were outraged by the poor road conditions in the municipality and urgently appealed to the government to take immediate action to prevent a complete economic collapse.
Currently, the road is in a deplorable state, resulting in a normal 30-minute travel distance from Half Assini to Samanye Barrier taking two-and-a-half hours, leading to increases in the prices of goods and services as well as increased transport fares in the municipality.
Residents and motorists staged a series of demonstrations to demand the construction of the road.
On Sunday, May 31, 2026, the contractor, Kingspok Company Limited, moved on-site to clear the construction site for the parking of equipment.
This, when completed, will end the decade of being without good roads in the Jomoro municipality.
Madam Affo-Toffey, who is also the deputy transport minister, is calling on the residents to calm down since the construction is going to affect some of them.
She said the residents should help the contractor to have smooth working conditions during the period of time that he will be in the municipality.
“Those with shops on roadsides should relocate them because it will affect them. I had not left you, but the time was not due. Now the time has come for us to have a good road. I urge you all to support the contractor,” Madam Affo-Toffey appealed.
The Deputy Transport Minister said she hopes this will revive the ailing economy in the municipality, as drivers, especially commercial drivers, will have work to do.
By: Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana