ACCESS ROAD TO UDS HOSTEL NOT READY YET (Page 28)

Story: Zakaria Alhassan, Tamale

WITH almost two weeks to the commencement of the Ghana 2008 tournament, it is still not certain which outfit is responsible for the tarring of the stretch of road that leads to the University for Development Studies (UDS) Medical School Enhanced Hostel where the four competing teams and CAF officials will be based.
While the Department of Urban Roads and the contractors who worked on the ultra-modern hostel are denying any responsibility, officials of the UDS who would take over the management of the hostel after the tournament are also without the financial wherewithal to fund the project.
Anything worth doing should be done well as the sages say, after all, how does the Local Organising Committee expect the teams to get to the hostels in the mist of so much dust, particularly in this dry and harsh harmattan weather?
It would certainly be a blot on the otherwise beautiful project and the image of Tamale and the country as a whole if whoever is in charge does not get to work immediately.
It is also incumbent on the Tamale Venue Organising Committee to liaise with the LOC and the Tamale Metropolitan Assembly to go into action and ensure that work on the road is expeditiously done to save everybody from embarrassment.
It is, however, heart-warming that the over GH¢ 1.4 million access road project at the new multi-billion-cedi stadium where the tournament is going to be held is almost complete.
Other components of the 21-kilometre road include walkways, sealed drains and streetlights.
According to the Tamale Metropolitan Roads Engineer, Mr William Donkor, other road works that are earnestly ongoing include access roads to the new VIP Lodge at the Tamale Airport, the Radach Hotel at Lamashegu and the Tamale Polytechnic.
He gave the assurance that work on the various road projects were within schedule and would be completed before the commencement of the tournament.
‘‘We need to protect all these investments by ensuring that we do not only use the roads judiciously but also protect them from damage,’’ he admonished.