The District Chief Executive (DCE) for Shai-Osudoku in the Greater Accra Region, Hon. Ignatius Godfred Dordoe, has raised concerns over the deteriorating state of roads, office infrastructure, and inadequate staff accommodation within the district, describing them as major obstacles affecting productivity and development.
Speaking during a working and familiarisation visit by the Chief Director of the Greater Accra Regional Coordinating Council (GARCC), Rev. Harry Nii Kwatei Owoo, the DCE noted that Shai-Osudoku remains one of the largest districts in the Greater Accra Region in terms of land size and therefore faces enormous developmental challenges.
According to him, the district occupies approximately 39.5 per cent of the total land area of the Greater Accra Region, making service delivery and infrastructure development particularly demanding.
“So as a district, we happen to be one of the biggest in the Greater Accra Region. About 39.5 per cent of the total land size of the Greater Accra Region is Shai-Osudoku, so you can look at our problem,” he stated.
Hon. Dordoe lamented the poor state of roads across the district, stressing that almost all road networks in the area are in deplorable condition.
“Our road network is very, very bad. In fact, all our roads are failures,” he said.
While acknowledging government intervention through some “Big Push” projects initiated by President John Dramani Mahama, the DCE stressed that much more remains to be done to improve accessibility within the district.
He therefore appealed for additional support, particularly for road maintenance equipment such as the District Road Improvement Programme (DRIP) machinery, to facilitate road reshaping and rehabilitation works.
“We are advocating that there must be some support for the DRIP machine so that we will be able to do a lot of reshaping and rehabilitating of some of the roads because no allocation is being made for DRIP at the moment,” he explained.
The DCE disclosed that the district currently finances such maintenance works through its Internally Generated Funds (IGF), which he admitted are insufficient to meet the growing demands.
Beyond road infrastructure, Hon. Dordoe also highlighted the poor condition of office accommodation within the district assembly and other key departments.
He revealed that the main administration block had been declared structurally weak by the Architectural and Engineering Services Limited (AESL), forcing the assembly to vacate parts of the facility for urgent renovation works.
“Our building is dilapidated and has been declared by AESL as very weak, which needs urgent renovation. That is why we vacated the place immediately and are renovating it,” he stated.
He further noted that office facilities used by the Education Directorate and the Department of Agriculture are also in poor condition, with exposed foundations and deteriorating structures requiring immediate attention.
“When you look at the education unit, their office accommodation is also weak. The foundations are exposed and when it rains, it becomes worse.
The Agric office is facing similar challenges,” he added.
Hon. Dordoe said the assembly has started renovation works on the administration block using allocations from the District Assemblies Common Fund and expressed hope that similar interventions would soon be extended to the education and agriculture departments.
The DCE also expressed concern over the lack of residential accommodation for staff working within the district, indicating that many workers commute daily from areas including Ashaiman, Adenta, Madina, and Dansoman.
According to him, the long commuting distances negatively affect punctuality and overall productivity at work.
“So many of them are coming from Ashaiman, Adenta, Madina, and Dansoman. It is affecting productivity because sometimes when you commute over such long distances, an officer may come to work only twice or three times in a week,” he noted.
To address the challenge, Hon. Dordoe disclosed that the assembly has introduced fuel support arrangements to cushion some staff who use private vehicles to commute to work.
He explained that although the district lacks the financial capacity to provide accommodation for all workers immediately, management is putting measures in place to improve staff welfare.
“What we do is to cushion them. Within a month, we are able to make some fuel allocation to them so that those who drive can have some liberty to commute,” he explained.
The DCE added that the assembly is planning to invest in residential accommodation projects for staff in the near future to improve attendance, commitment, and service delivery.
“We are making an appeal that we can get some support to put up residential accommodation for our staff. When we do that, many of them can stay on the job throughout the week and productivity will improve,” he said.
Despite the challenges, Hon. Dordoe commended staff of the assembly for what he described as relatively good performance and punctuality under difficult working conditions.
“Punctuality on average is good. They are doing relatively well despite the challenges,” he stated.
By 1960news.com
