Mr. Kwasi Bonzoh, the District Chief Executive (DCE) for Ellembelle District of the Western Region has cut the sod for the construction of a 3-unit classroom block for Nzema Akropong Junior High School (JHS), to improve access to education.
The project is expected to be completed within four months will have various ancillary facilities including offices, staff common room, and ICT centre to facilitate effective teaching and learning.
The facility is expected to replace the old structure which was constructed by the community some decades ago.
Historically, this is the first time a particular sitting government is constructing a classroom block for the Nzema Akropong Community.
However, the project will be through the Ghana Education Trust Find (GeTFund) at a cost of four hundred and fifty thousand Ghana Cedis (GH¢450,000). The new block when completed will be equipped with mono desks in each class to observe social distancing protocols.
The project is being executed by ATANS Company limited.
Speaking at the colourful ceremony held at the school park, Mr. Kwasi Bonzoh, the DCE said when the project is completed would improve the school’s Basic Examination Certificate Examination (BECE) performance in the district.
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He disclosed that in 2019 BECE, the Nzema Akropong JHS scored zero per cent and attributed the cause to the existing poor school infrastructure.
He said in 2012 electioneering campaign he came to the area and the Chief appealed to him to construct a new JHS classroom block for the community, adding that when the NPP came to power he promised to honour the Chief’s appeal.
“I came here in 2012 and the Chief appealed to me that if God permit and I become MP, he needs only two things and that’s his bad road and Classroom block and I promised him that if God willing and we come to come to power, I will do it for him…I first brought contractors and they have started construction of their bad road”.
He added, “So it was during the sod cutting of the road two months ago and I promised to construct the classroom block for the Chief so today we have break ground to construct new Classroom block of 3-unit classroom block plus ICT centre and two offices so that our kids can learn how to use ICT to do meaningful things on the internet”.
He, therefore, promised to construct a 6-seater WC toilet facility in addition to the school.
“If the contractor finish the classroom block, he will construct a 6-seater WC toilet facility for the students and teachers, four for the students and two for the staff”.
Mr. Kwasi Bonzoh pleaded with the community folks to rally behind the constructor and his workers to complete the project on time.
He also advised the youth who had been engaged in labour work to avoid laziness and work according to the contractor’s specification.
He promised to monitor the project to finish before December 2020.
Mr. Bonzoh called on the residents to vote massively for him come December to replace Emmanuel Armah Kofi-Buah for failing to construct a single classrom block for the community since 2009 he became MP for the Constituency.
On his part, the Chief of Nzema Akropong, Nana Adu Kwame II, thanked the DCE for honouring his promise and said he would be happy when the project is done.
His reason was that sod cutting of a project doesn’t mean the project has been completed, adding that politicians only rush to cut the sod for projects in an election year and abandon them after they have lost power.
“I am half happy because this is just a sod-cutting so I want to see the project done before I will be fully happy”, he emphasized.
The Chief said education was his topmost priority and urged the residents of the area to stop dictating for the contractor as to what he should do.
He said this was his first time the community was benefiting from a government educational project since the community was established.
He added that successive governments had ignored their appeal to establish some classroom blocks for the community.
“All the school blocks you see here, from KG to JHS, we the Community contributed to build, no government has constructed a single classroom block for us here but today Kwasi Bonzoh is doing some for us, let us thank him and we supposed to support the government of the day”, he revealed.
The Chief seized the opportunity to perform libation for Kwasi Bonzoh who is also the NPP Parliamentary Candidate for Ellembelle Constituency to achieve his ambition.
Mr. Paul Atta Ansah, the Contractor pledged to finish the project within months and also promised to work during the evenings to meet the timeline.
He urged the community to support him to complete the project on schedule.
The DCE was accompanied by some staff of Ellembelle District Assembly, some NPP Constituency Executives, the media to perform the sod-cutting ceremony.
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Source: Daniel Kaku
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