Upper West takes delivery of DRIP equipment

The Upper West Regional Minister, Stephen Yakubu, has taken delivery of some of the equipment meant for the region under the District Road network Improvement Programme (DRIP) launched by the President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, about a fortnight ago.

The programme has been designed to empower district assemblies with the resources and equipment necessary to rehabilitate roads within their various jurisdictions to effect meaningful changes.

The region took delivery of seven motor graders, two bulldozers, and six backhoes as part of the consignment for the region. Other machines expected to arrive soon are 11 tipper trucks for onward distribution to the various districts within the region.

Though the region is yet to receive its full complement, the regional minister decided to have the local inauguration and distribute the equipment to the various assemblies to start using them for the benefit of the people.

“I have decided to inaugurate what we have and distribute them to the assemblies while they are working. There is no time to waste. I am not going to allow the machines to be sitting here. We are going to put them to use so that we all see the benefit of the dream of the President,” he said.

Road infrastructure

Mr Yakubu admitted that the Upper West Region had challenges with road infrastructure, and expressed the hope that with the supply of the equipment, the assemblies would be in a position to make some of the roads accessible and motorable for the communities.

Some of the equipment

Even though the region benefited from some European Union-funded roads, he said, “We have a lot of deficit in terms of road construction,” and as such he was of the view that if every government had made the same commitment to roads in the region as the current government, “I don’t think we would have been in this situation.”

Mr Yakubu said the Upper West Region was the food basket of the country, and as such there was the need to ensure that every farm, village, and hamlet was accessible.

 “There is a way to get an access road to get there and this is exactly what we want to do.”

He said the programme was going to be community-driven and would respond to the needs of communities that required their services.

Handing over the equipment, the acting Upper West Regional Coordinator of DRIP, Venantius K. Kuudigr, said as part of the agreement, JA Plant Pool, the suppliers of the equipment would be responsible for maintaining the equipment and the supply of spare parts.

He said the company would also bring in technical personnel to train those who would handle the equipment to ensure that those in charge had the required technical know-how to maintain them.

He said two Chinese expatriates would soon be in the region to take the locals through the training to ensure a successful implementation of the programme.

“Apart from that, JA Plant Pool will be responsible for supplying us with spare parts. It would not be like in the past when equipment grinds to a halt because there was no money to buy a spare part.”

“This DRIP programme is bound to yield positive results and improve the lives of every Ghanaian,” he said.

The Wa Municipal Chief Executive, Alhaji Issahaku Tahiru Moomin, said one of the major challenges facing every district in the country was roads “and you cannot outline the problems of any district without mentioning roads. And that has been the problem all of us face.

“I think this is a game-changer, it is something that has never happened before and I am sure the benefit would be enormous,” he said.

He thus, expressed his gratitude to the President for the initiative and for supplying the district with the equipment to improve the road network, thereby improving the people's lives.