The Municipal Chief Executive Officer (MCE) of the Shai-Osudoku Municipal Assembly in the Greater Accra Region, Mr Fred Offei, has announced that contracts for the reconstruction of all the relevant roads in the municipality have been awarded to bring relief to commuters. 

This disclosure followed complaints from scores of vehicle users who got stranded on the 15.3-km Dodowa-Afienya road after a heavy three-hour downpour on Saturday, November 25, 2023.

Mr Offei clarified that the specific stretch of road in question falls under the jurisdiction of the Prampram Municipality, not Shai-Osu Doku. 

Speaking on Accra100.5FM's morning show Ghana Yensom hosted by Odehyeeba Kofi Essuman on Monday, 27 November 2023, he acknowledged that although contracts for most of the problematic roads in the municipality had been awarded, the challenge has to do with the absence of contractors.

“We are still waiting for the contractors to come to site,” he noted    

The MCE explained that the Shai-Osudoku Municipal Assembly lacked the capacity to construct a one-kilometre bitumen road.

He emphasised that their capability extended to reshaping and grading certain portions of the roads.

“Our capacity falls within on-the-spot improvement and not long-term improvement of the situation,” he said.

Despite the challenges, Mr Offei assured the public that efforts were being made to address the road issues.

Following a heavy downpour that lasted from just before 2 pm to around 5 pm, the Dodowa-Afienya road became impassable, with portions submerged in floodwaters on Saturday.

Subsequently, on Sunday, 26 November 2023, a seven-hour downpour worsened the situation by turning almost the entire stretch into a river.

Various vehicles, including heavy-duty trucks, trailers, SUVs, and saloon cars, were trapped in mud on either side of the road on Saturday.

Virtually no cars could subsequently use the road on Sunday and Monday.

The situation, exacerbated by manhole-riddled conditions, prompted locals to assist in extracting some vehicles from the mud, but damage to engines was reported.

This road has been a persistent issue for road users in the Greater Accra Region for several years, with the last major patchwork carried out in mid-2016 in preparation for that year's general elections.

Mr Fred Offei has assured that he has written a reminder to the Ministry of Roads and Highways for them to prevail on the contractors to come to the site.