Frank Asiedu Bekoe, Member of Parliament for Suhum Constituency, has criticized President Mahama’s decision to consolidate DRIP machines from various districts to regional levels, questioning the logic behind the move.
He claims that each district has its own machine, and removing them would result in inefficiencies and higher maintenance costs.
Former President Akufo-Addo on July 31, 2024, launched a comprehensive fleet of 2,240 pieces of equipment, including motor graders, backhoes, rollers, wheel loaders, bulldozers, tipper trucks, concrete mixers, water tankers, and low beds. These machines are expected to play a crucial role in the nationwide improvement of road infrastructure.
The DRIP is designed to empower Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Assemblies (MMDAs) with the necessary resources and equipment to rehabilitate and maintain roads within their areas. This initiative aligns with the government’s commitment to decentralisation, providing local authorities with the tools to effect meaningful change.
A four-member committee at each MMDA was to oversee the implementation of the program, ensuring high standards of quality and accountability.
The committees will include technical officers from the Ministry of Local Government, Decentralisation and Rural Development, and the Ministry of Roads and Highways, along with a representative from the 48 Engineer Regiment of the Ghana Armed Forces. The Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs) were to chair these committees.
But delivering the State of the Nation Address in Parliament on Thursday, February 27, 2025, President Mahama stated that the DRIP equipment, which was acquired at the last moment as a knee-jerk reaction for electioneering purposes, would be reorganised into regional mobile maintenance units to provide emergency road works in the regions.
However, speaking with Rainbow Radio’s parliamentary correspondent, Boshyeba Afriyie, the Suhum MP stated that the President’s decision is unacceptable because it will slow down road construction.
“Unless the President does not trust the engineers at the assembly, unless the President does not trust MMDCs he has not appointed, I think that he has to leave these machines at the MMDAs for the district engineers and the MCE or DCE to continue to use these machines. But taking them from Suhum to Koforidua—if I need a road to be cleared from Supreso to Anpedwie, then I should write to my MCE in Suhum for the MCE to also write to Koforidua—if the machines are in short supply, then this policy can’t suffice. But every district has its own machines. Why are you going to lump them in Koforidua?
If the machines are there and they are not being used, look, they will get spoilt easily, and even the cost of maintaining them and buying spare parts will cost the state more. This policy should be abandoned because there was no thought-through thinking before this policy was settled on.’
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