Residents of the Sissala East Municipality of the Upper West Region haveappealed to the government to fix the Tumu-Sakai-Walembelleroad.
They want government through its recent District Road Improvement Programme to provide the Municipality with a good road network to boost socio-economic development.
In an interview with the Ghanaian Times on Tuesday, some of the residents expressed frustration over the continual neglect of the area by successive governments.
They highlighted that movement on the roads were extremely dangerous, especially as it becomes slippery and muddy during the raining season.
A community leader at Sakai, Mr N-dian N-akul Hussein, said farming was the primary occupation in the area, and farmers had to struggle to transport their produce to market on motorbikes instead of vehicles due to the poor nature of the road network.
He added that the bad state of the road which links neighbouring Burkina Faso has made it nearly impossible for trucks to access the routes from there to transport produce such as tomatoes and onions to Ghana, compelling residents to rely on motorbikes for transportation.
A resident, Ms Hanifa Erasung, who operates a provision shop at Sakai, complained that the dusty nature of the road in the dry season exposed them to various acute respiratory diseases, which was a great concern to them.
“My health is at risk due to the dust from the dusty road and sometimes too when you come to the shop in the afternoon you would notice everything been dusty,” she said.
She added that the deplorable state of the roads was taking a toll on their daily routines amidst the grave economic challenges it posed to them.
She appealed to the Ministry of Roads and Highways to fix the road to help boost economic activity, and ensure good health in the area.
A commercial driver, Mr Dramani Eric, also stated that because of the nature of the roads, they spend much money on the maintenance of their vehicles, a situation he stressed had forced many drivers to stop using the road.
“Last Monday I loaded some goods and passengers from Wa to Tumu, when we got to Walembelle the vehicle ceased,so I had to look for another vehicle to offload the goods and the passengers, the money I spent to maintain the vehicle was not small, I plan to stop this work and look for a different work because we end up using the profit made to maintain the vehicle,” he larmented.
He said that many drivers who ply the road had to visit the mechanic shop almost every day as their vehicles break down frequently.
The Assembly member for Sakai Electoral Area, MrKantongbokuGbene Elijah, complained thatthe heavy tipper trucks plying the road kept worsening the condition of the road every day.
He expressed the impact of the District Road Improvement Programme, but was uncertain whether the Sakai community would benefit from it.
The previous NDC government awarded the contract to repair the road to Fuzak Co. Ltd in 2015. However, the contractor has not been seen on site, since the change of government,leaving the road in disrepair.
- Participants after the meeting
- FROM RAFIA ABDUL RAZAK SAKA
