The Ministry of Roads and Highways (MRH) on Friday inducted local Grievances Redress Mechanism Actors (GRMA), into office at Atebubu in the Bono East Region.
Under the Transport Sector Improvement Project, GRMA is aimed at capturing complaints of residents affected by roads construction in the Atebubu-Amantin municipality and addressing them amicably.
The actors, included nine-member District Grievances Committee, 22-member Community Focal Persons and 45-member Community Monitoring Committee, made up of identifiable groups namely chiefs, religious leaders, youth, women associations, assembly and the contractor, among others.
Mrs Efua Akwetea-Mensah, the Principal Roads Engineer of the Department of Roads at MRH, who inducted the actors into office said the 200 kilometre road being constructed in the municipality was a World Bank funded project.
She said the project, under the output and performance-based road contract, was scheduled to be completed in two years adding that “the contractor is mandated to do maintenance on the project for three years, before leaving the area.”
Mrs Akwetea-Mensah said the road construction has affected over 22 communities, thus the need to set a grievances redress desk at the assembly and actors in the affected communities, to address complaints between the contractor and residents.
“The project will directly benefit residents of the municipality. As I induct you today, work with transparency, integrity, love and respect to ensure peace and tranquility prevail between the contractor, residents and MRH,” she told the actors.
The Atebubu Amantin Municipal Planning Officer, Mr Thomas Atibilla, said the project when completed, would facilitate easy transport of foodstuffs from farms to market centres, saying that movement of people, goods and services will be enhanced.
Mr Atibilla promised the assembly’s support to work relentlessly, to ensure peaceful co-existence among the various stakeholders in the road construction saying that “the GRMA is first ever in the country.”
The Grievances Redress Desk Officer, Mr Eric Anorey, indicated that the World Bank contracted Savannah Signatures, an NGO, to register the grievances of residents through an online portal, grievances desk and community focal persons.
Mr Anorey admonished residents of the municipality that, GRMA was not solely for fault finding on the contractor, but a collaborative purpose to ensure good output of work done, as well as resolving all complaints.
Nana Anim Danso, on behalf of members of GRMA, pledged to put the skills of communication, fair hearing of complaints, and dialogue learned from the training workshop by Savanna Signatures and Global Media Foundation, into practice.
FROM EMMANUEL ADU GYAMFI, ATEBUBU
