General News of Saturday, 10 July 2021
Source: m.
2021-07-10
Davis Ansah Opoku is MP for Mpraeso
The Member of Parliament for Mpraeso and deputy ranking member of the Public Accounts Committee of Parliament (PAC), Davis Ansah Opoku, is calling on the government to relocate the Weija tollbooth immediately.
This, he believes, has caused encroachment and pollution of the area around the weija dam due to the economic activities.
He was speaking at the Public Accounts Hearing when the Minister of Roads & Highways, Hon. Kwesi Amoako-Atta and his deputies appeared before the committee.
The young legislator said that “the area is a buffer zone created to protect the Weija Lake and was compulsorily acquired by the Republic of Ghana as a ‘no-go’ area.
However, the Weija tollbooth has attracted structures including mechanical garages and carports which has attracted massive commercial and trading activities that pollute the lake.”
Mr Opoku Ansah, who also serves as a member of the Works & Housing Committee of Parliament, said, “The tollbooth and the explosion of trading activities are therefore not compatible with the water resources conservation and production of treated water for communities including Accra.”
Weija Dam serves 60% of the population of Accra and several communities in the Central Region. The continuous pollution of the river body is a looming danger for the state.
On his part, the Minister for Roads & Highways, Hon. Amoako admitted to the relocation of the tolbooth and reiterated the importance of the weija dam to the people living in Accra and some central regions.
He said, “The ministry is currently engaged in relocating some tollbooths due to urbanisation, and it is being considered.” He added that the tollbooth contributes to the building up of traffic on the national highway 1.