I want to thank all of you for joining us here today. I also want to recognize the clergy, members of parliament, our regional and constituency executives, management and staff of the Ministry of Roads and Highways, the workers and staff of the construction company and all the good people of Savannah region.

We cut short to start the big push projects at Afienya in the greater Accra region and that first short-cutting was to cover the Afienya-Dawenya Road, the Afienya to Dodowa Road, the Tema to Asutuare-Volivo Road and also the dualization of the Accra-Aflao Road. We then continue to Volta region to cut short again to reconstruct the road from Ho to Denu which is a major road on the eastern borderline of Ghana. Today we are here to cut short to cover three regions, Bono East, Savannah and Upper West regions.

Today’s short-cutting covers the reconstruction of the road all the way from Wechi to Wa. The road is going to be reconstructed. It will be a new road very well constructed so that it can adjust to the traffic that it’s carrying as an international route to the landlocked countries in Burkina Faso and Mali.

At the same time today represents a short-cutting for the reconstruction of the Fufuso-Sawla Road. As you can see the Swala-Fufuso Road was completed when I was president. Unfortunately due to lack of maintenance many parts of the road have deteriorated and so the same contractor who’s working on the Wechi-Wa Road has also been asked to work on the Fufuso to Sawla Road.

The first roads that we have selected are the most important at risk in all the regions and as I said when we launched the big push I said we’re beginning with roads that connect regional capitals to regional capitals and some of the roads that connect district capitals to district capitals and then afterwards we would look at many other roads so this is not the end this is the beginning and so we’ll start with the main at risk and then we will come to the arterial roads that join those main at risk and so roads like Kongtuna, Tuna, Kalba all those roads are roads that are going to be captured.

Aside from that for my own hometown Bole the contractor has been asked to rehabilitate Bole Town Roads and at the same time I’ll be coming to cut the sword for both Bole Town Roads and the reconstruction of the Bole – Chache Road.

The Bole – Chache Road is important because the Cote d’Ivoire authorities have put a brand new bridge over the black water and so we need to reconstruct the road so that becomes an international route for trade between Cote d’Ivoire and Ghana.

Today after this sod cutting we’re supposed to continue to cut the sword for the reconstruction of the Wa, Tumu to Navrongo Road. Unfortunately because of some technical reasons and the fact that we have to fly back to Accra today and the limitations that we could face at the Wa airport we’ve had to postpone that short cutting and so I’ll come back at a later date so that we cut the sword for the Wa – Tumu – Navrongo Road and also the Bole Town Roads and the Bole – Chache Road.

But today we are here in Sawla on the soil of Sawla to do more than just cut sword we’re here to open a new corridor of progress to reconnect regions markets and families to renew the promise of inclusive development and to affirm that every part of Ghana deserves modern infrastructure, dignity and opportunity.

This event signifies the start of the rehabilitation of the Wenchi – Sawla Road and to Wenchi – Wa a flagship project under a big push national infrastructure program and a cornerstone of the 24-hour economy policy. This sod cutting also marks the beginning of a rehabilitation of the Fufosu – Sawla Road which was funded under my past administration with a loan from the African Development Bank.

This vividly demonstrates how deliberate public investment can change not only roads but also the lives of our people and I wish to repeat my apology and regrets to the people of Ghana that with the start of big push the whole of Ghana is going to be a construction site for the next two years.

Wherever in this country you go, roads will be being constructed and so I ask Ghanaians to be patient with us and to accept the inconvenience because 24 months after the launch of the big push you’ll have the best roads in West Africa. The Wenchi – Wa Road is not an ordinary route. It is part of what we call the National Route N12 and it extends from Wenchi in the Bono region, passes through Bamboi, through Bandan NKwanta and Tinga, to Sawla, to Tuna and eventually to wa in the Upper West Region.

Beyond Wa it continues northwards to Hamile at our border with Burkina Faso. In total the Techiman to Wa corridor is approximately 322 kilometers with 195 kilometers comprising the section between Wenchi and Sawla and approximately 35 kilometers from Sawla to Wa.

These segments are situated in different(8:48) regions as I told you. Wenchi is in the Bono East Region, Sawla is in the Savannah Region and Wa is in the Upper West Region.

Every day, is estimated that between 2,000 and 2,500 vehicles pass through this corridor carrying nearly 4,000 tons of grain, yams, cashew and livestock from the middle belts to the north. This road handles a significant volume of Ghana’s agri-freight traffic.

The vital support of our grain and livestock economy connecting the rich farmlands of the Bono East Region to the Sahel trade routes via Hamile on our northern border. For the past few years this strategic artery has been allowed to deteriorate. Potholes, failed pavements and broken grains have made travel difficult and hazardous.

The vehicle operating costs on this road has risen lby nearly 40 percent and travel time just between Wenchi to Sawla and Wa can take up to eight hours. And the rate of accidents has also increased. As a result of the poor nature of the road and the slow speed at which vehicles have to travel, we have also recorded armed robberies on this stretch of road.

This is unacceptable in modern Ghana. And that is why under the Big Push Program we are committed to a comprehensive and modern rehabilitation of this corridor to restore safety, efficiency and pride to every community along the route. The project covers 195 kilometers and is carefully divided into seven lots to facilitate concurrent execution and early completion.

The project will include complete pavement reconstruction and widening, drainage and culvert upgrades to handle heavy rains, asphalt and concrete surfacing. And so the road isnot just going to be a bituminous surfacing road quota, it’s going to be an asphalt road. We’ll also have road safety installations that includes road signs, we’ll have guardrails and the road will be beautifully painted and marked so that everybody knows how to move on it.

We’ll also along the way improve the town roads in Bamboi, in Banda, NKwanta and Tenga. When the road reaches Bole Township it will become a dual carriageway. So the road through Bole Township will be a double road and so that traffic will be separated.

Construction is supposed to take 24 months but the contractors have assured me that they will be finished before 24 months reaches. Some of the finest road construction companies have been assigned to this road so I’m certain that they’ll do a good job.

We have some of our Chinese Ghanian companies, CIWE and you can see them seated there. We have Polychangda Overseas Engineering Company also there. You can see China Railway No.5 Engineering Company and then one of Ghana’s best road construction companies Maripoma Limited is also working on this road.

These contractors have been selected for their proven competence and integrity and let me emphasize this government will not tolerate delays or shoddy work. We expect compliance with the highest technical standards, environmental protection and transparent oversight by the Ghana Highway Authority and the Ministry of Roads and Highways.

When completed, travel time between Wenchi to Wa will be cut by more than 50 percent. Vehicle operating costs will decline by more than 40 percent. Road accidents will reduce by approximately 45 percent.

Agricultural output and trade will rise sharply as farm produce will lreach the markets on time. Beyond the numbers, this means that a teacher would reach their posting without delay, a farmer will earn fairer prices and a trader will be able to deliver their agricultural produce day and night.

And this is the essence of the 24-hour economy where quality infrastructure allows production, processing and logistics to run continuously 24-7, creating jobs and supporting livelihoods across Ghana.

The rehabilitation is part of a wider transformation of Ghana’s northwestern corridor and so as I said under this face of the big push, we will reconstruct the Fufuso – Sawla Road, we will complete the Bole-Mandari-Chaché connection to the Ivory Coast border, integrate this into a continuous high-quality highway stretching from Techiman through, Wenchi, Bamboi, Sawla, Wa and Hamile. This will connect the agricultural heartlands of the Middle Belt to our northern frontier and to the regional markets in the Sahel.

My brothers and sisters, this project is a shared trust between the government and people of Ghana. So let us protect it, let us avoid encroachments on the road, let us avoid overloading of trucks that destroy our investments and most importantly let us avoid putting illegal speed ramps on the road. The speed ramps destroy the road because the heavy trucks have to slow down to climb the speed ramps and when they slow down the weight of the truck destroys the road and so you notice that anytime there’s a speed ramp, the road there is spoilt. So let us not build illegal speed ramps on the road.

We’re going to let the contractors put properly engineered speed bumps along the road where vehicles have to slow down. We’ve also directed the contractors as far as possible to engage local people to work in construction. If you need labor, take the local people, don’t go and bring people from somewhere.

If you need any supplies of food, of water, our people here are enterprising enough. They can be your suppliers, they will provide you with anything you need. So I urge our youth from Bamboi, Banda, NKwanta, Tenga, Bole and Sawla to take advantage of this opportunity of the road construction.

The big push is about fairness and equity. It ensures that the north and south develop together and that the farmer and solar benefits from the same quality of roads as the trader in Tema. It complements our broader program of the Feed the Industry initiative linking agriculture to agro-processing zones.

The 24-hour plus accelerated export development program boosting logistics and our blue water guards and clean up Ghana agenda protecting our environments as we build. Infrastructure forms the backbone of a prosperous economy. Without roads a nation cannot progress.

What we’re starting here today is more than a construction project. It is a covenant of hope, a promise that this government will deliver not slogans but solutions, not excuses but excellence. From Wenchi to Sawla, from Bole to Wa, from Savannah to Accra, we are weaving our nation together thread by thread, road by road, bridge by bridge and community by community.

Let us commit to turn this transformation into a visible and lasting reality. Long live Ghana. Long live the big push program.

Long live the 24-hour economy. May God bless our homeland Ghana and make our nation great and strong. I thank you.