Deputy minister of energy, Andrew Egyapa Mercer, has expressed the need for immediate action to be taken to address the demands by tanker drivers on the deplorable nature of roads they ply on.

According to him, the demands of the tanker drivers who have gone on strike are legitimate. He indicated that the issue has been brought to his attention by the chief executive of BOST.

Following this, Mr Mercer stated that he immediately engaged the President of the tanker drivers union, where the latter relayed what the concerns of drivers were.

“So, that’s where we are but obviously, the state of the road requires some urgent immediate action. So, some laterite I believe is going to be applied but it all depends on what the technical people advise…”
Andrew Egyapa Mercer

Mr Mercer noted that government is not unaware of the plight of drivers, as he has personally engaged the roads minister, Amoako Atta, who empathized with the situation and explained what the issues in addressing them were.

“Obviously, the explanation is not what the tanker drivers want, they want action. So, the minister and I agreed that we are going to go there tomorrow to go and see the situation and find some immediate remedy.”
Andrew Egyapa Mercer

Government terminates contract on person delaying road construction

Elaborating on the delay by government to make the road motorable for tanker drivers, the deputy energy minister highlighted that the contract to fix the road has been awarded. He explained that two contracts were awarded for a concrete road, one to a contractor who constructed the Tema DVLA road, however, he indicated that the other contractor could not do the work that was given to him.

“So, his contract has been terminated and it’s been re-awarded to the contractor who did the DVLA road. He’s not mobilized to site yet. This is not even a seven year problem.
“If we had unlimited resources, I’m sure all our roads in this country would have been asphalted. Yes, we all will feel the heat when there are shortages at the pumps and we at the ministry don’t want that situation to happen…”
Andrew Egyapa Mercer

Commenting on the by-elections underway at Assin North, Mr Mercer revealed that the campaigns leading to this day have been an interesting one, especially with many MPs serving as elections officers. He stated that this makes it a little bit more interesting than the most recent one in Kumawu.

To this end, he expressed confidence that the New Patriotic Party will win the elections.

“I believe that the NPP can win, that will be my expectation…”
Andrew Egyapa Mercer

Also, Mr Mercer expressed concern over the participation of Mr Gyakye Quayson in the elections despite being bedeviled with criminal charges. He revealed that per the facts of Mr Quayson’s criminal trial and matters arising, he is not “even interested in the direct comparison with Adamu Sakande, even though some of the charges in material particular are the same as those of Adamu Sakande”.

“I really have a little bit of difficult with the NDC candidate, because having regard to his present circumstance, and the charges that are levelled against him. I really am surprised that he is contesting the elections in the first place…”
Andrew Egyapa Mercer

Furthermore, Mr Mercer explained that save the fact that in this particular Gyakye Quayson case, he’s been charged with deceit of public officer when he applied for the passport, there isn’t much similarity in both cases.