By Albert Futukpor, GNA
Lewuniyiri (S/R), Sept 02, GNA – A community-managed tricycle has been inaugurated at Lewuniyiri in the Sawla-Tuna-Kalba District of the Savannah Region to improve access to market centres and provide affordable emergency transportation for residents.
The intervention is to address the community’s longstanding challenge of limited, unreliable and expensive transportation to nearby markets as well as improve the movement of farm produce, agricultural inputs and other essential goods to and from market centres.
The tricycle was leveraged to the community under the Promoting Rural Opportunities for the Vulnerable and Excluded (PROVE) for Sustainable Development in Lewuniyiri project being implemented by CSD Reform, an NGO, under the Governance, Rule of Law, and Peacebuilding for Sustainable Development Flagship Programme.
The project is being implemented in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme Ghana with funding support from the Governments of Denmark, Luxembourg and South Korea.
The initiative seeks to strengthen sustainable livelihoods, market participation, resilience and social cohesion among vulnerable women, youth and pastoralist households in the community.
At a community ceremony to commission the tricycle, three young men were publicly designated as operators after completing practical training in tricycle management, road safety and basic maintenance.
The operators would work under the supervision of the community’s inter-ethnic Project Management Committee (PMC) and in coordination with the Treasurer to ensure that the commercial use of the tricycle was properly scheduled, recorded and accounted for.
The tricycle would enable community members and livelihood groups to transport products such as shea and dairy products as well as other goods to market centres more efficiently.
Residents of Lewuniyiri often travel to Gbiniyiri, Saru and Kalba to trade and obtain essential commodities, making transportation a major constraint to their economic activities.
Besides commercial transportation, the tricycle is also expected to facilitate the movement of agricultural inputs and equipment and provide emergency transportation for sick persons including pregnant women, children and other vulnerable members of the community.
Under the project’s operational arrangements, priority emergency use of the tricycle would be provided free of charge or at highly subsidised rates to ensure that lack of money did not prevent residents from accessing urgent transportation.
The tricycle has also been registered with the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority providing a formal basis for its safe and accountable operation.
As part of measures to ensure the long-term sustainability of the intervention, the community has agreed that revenue generated from the commercial operations of the tricycle will be deposited into a dedicated local bank account.
The PMC has committed to completing the account registration process and providing regular financial updates to community members during meetings to promote transparency and accountability.
The intervention formed part of CSD Reform’s broader efforts to promote climate-resilient livelihoods, inclusive economic opportunities and stronger community systems in Lewuniyiri.
Lewuniyiri is a geographically isolated border community confronted with poverty, climate stress, limited access to basic services and persistent constraints to market access.
GNA
Edited by Eric K Amoh/Benjamin Mensah
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