Joe Gidisu Must Act On spilling of concrete on our roads

As if the incidence of pot holes on our roads is not enough, The Herald has for some time now, observed the reckless pouring of concrete on the major streets of Accra by concrete mixer trucks owned by Monolo Plant Limited.

The company is into the supply of the premix concrete for sale within the Accra-Tema Metropolis. It is part of the De Simone Group which owns De Simone Limited, Eastern Quarries, Monterosa Construction Limited among others.

Commuters on the Madina-Accra road in the morning witness how drivers of these concrete mixer trucks, almost on daily bases, recklessly pour their wares on the street, which dries up and deform the road paid for through the toil, tears and blood of the taxpayer.

The appalling situation comes in the wake of another alarming observation where waste-carrying trucks deliberately allow the wind to blow the refuse they are transporting, to land filled sites, to litter the streets with again with reckless abundance. This is because the refuse are always transported uncovered.

What is even more shocking, is that guards of the Accra Metropolitan Authority (AMA) and personnel of the Ghana Police Service look on unconcerned as the destruction of the roads and littering of the city go on.

Sooner or later these dried concrete patches will take over the street, and apart from the health hazards or risks posed to motorists and the road users, the taxpayer will have to cough up billions of Ghana Cedis to repair these roads.

The Herald will like to implore the Minister of Road Transport, Joe Gidisu to take drastic action on this issue by getting the producers of this concrete, Monolo Plant Limited, to ensure that the trucks that transport this product are provided with tarpaulins etc, to cover the mixed concrete to prevent any spill-over.

Millions of Ghana Cedis is spent to construct and maintain these roads, and must not be left at the mercy of reckless people and unpatriotic Ghanaians who don’t give a hoot as to how much these roads cost and the extent to which their irresponsibilities will inconvenience commuters.

We at The Herald are appalled by the state of affairs, and we hope and entreat all those responsible for the maintenance of our roads to quickly call those whose actions lead to these unfortunate scenes to do something about it.

Their mandate must not only be limited to driving off the streets the hapless people who are hawking just to irk a living; AMA and other relevant agencies must, as a matter of urgency, ensure that this menace is brought to an end before it is too late in the day to do anything, where the cost would be more than the country can afford.

We wait to see, and we won’t relent in our effort to bring this to the attention of the appropriate authorities.