By: Samuel Ayammah
The Bono East Regional Minister, Mr. Francis Owusu Antwi, has inspected ongoing GETFund and other government projects at Osei Bonsu Senior High School, Busunya SHS and other project sites in the Nkoranza North District.
The inspection, which was led by the Regional Minister, forms part of efforts to expand educational infrastructure, improve teaching and learning, and end the double-track system.
At Osei Bonsu SHS, where a 12-unit classroom block and a girls’ dormitory are under construction, Mr. Antwi expressed satisfaction with the quality and speed of work.
“I was very comfortable with the quality and speed of work at Osei Bonsu. I must applaud the contractor and all the people involved,” he said.
The story was however different at Busunya SHS, where he inspected a girls’ dormitory and a classroom block. Mr. Antwi expressed dissatisfaction with the low substructure of the classroom block and the slow pace of work on both projects.
“The substructure is very, very low, of which I’m not comfortable. And the speed of work too is highly unacceptable. They must at least double their steps to catch up with their project milestones,” he stated.
He has directed the contractor to rectify the defects by constructing additional rings as recommended by the site engineer, warning that failure to comply will attract sanctions.
“We will continue to monitor. If they fail to comply, we will take a decision against them,” he warned.
He said when completed, the facilities will increase intake and help phase out the double-track system in line with President John Dramani Mahama’s vision of expanding access to quality secondary education.
The team led by the Regional Minister also inspected the construction of teachers’ bungalows and classroom blocks at Tanfiano and Bodom. Mr. Antwi expressed satisfaction with the progress of work at both communities and said when completed, the projects will significantly enhance teaching and learning.
He noted that the teachers’ bungalows will end the situation where teachers commute long distances daily to teach, while the new classroom blocks will provide a conducive environment for pupils.
For his part, the Assistant Headmaster of Osei Bonsu SHS, Mr. Kwame Opoku, described the intervention as a major relief, noting that the school, which runs the transitional system, has a population of 1,997 students with some sleeping on floors and verandas due to inadequate dormitories and classrooms.
“Our main challenges are dormitories and classrooms. With these projects we cannot exit the transitional system completely, but it will help ease congestion. If we get one on the boys’ side, we can easily exit the transition and come to the single track. We thank government very much,” he said.
Meanwhile, the District Chief Executive for Nkoranza North, Mr. Patrick Effah, commended President John Dramani Mahama for his enormous support to the district in terms of roads, schools, health facilities and other infrastructure, saying the district is benefiting from the national cake.
Mr. Effah disclosed that the Assembly will commence 10 new projects by the end of September to further boost infrastructure development in the district.
“The contractors have assured us that they have given us just one month for us to come back and assess them. I can assure you that within that one month, they will do a yeoman’s job to make sure all the projects, including the 24-Hour Economy Market and others, will see improvement,” he said.
He added that he has been using Saturdays as a monitoring platform and will enhance it now that he has the full contract details and expected progress of work to ensure effective supervision and timely completion of all projects.
