By Philip Tengzu, GNA
Kpaglahi (UWR), Nov. 11, GNA – Some stakeholders in the Wa East District have appealed to the government to prioritise the rehabilitation of deplorable roads in the district in the 2027 Budget and Economic Policy to help improve the socio-economic lives of the people in the area.
They said the poor state of roads linking communities in the district hampered socio-economic activities, particularly agricultural production, transportation of farm produce to market centres, and timely access to essential services such as healthcare.
Naa Kadri Ibrahim, Chief of Jimpenhi and Secretary to Wa Naa, a community in the Wa East District, made the appeal in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) at Kpaglahi community in that district.
The Minister of Finance, Dr. Cassiel Ato Baah Forson, is expected to present the 2027 Budget and Economic Policy Statement to Parliament on November 12, 2026, to outline the government’s priority areas for intervention in 2027.
Naa Kadri said the expectation of the people in the district, particularly the Jimpenhi Divisional Area, was for the budget to address their basic livelihood needs, especially road infrastructure, education, health, agriculture, water, and sanitation, among others.
He described the road network within the divisional area as deplorable, despite the area’s significant contribution to the Internally Generated Funds (IGF) of the District Assembly through its vibrant market and economic activities.
He particularly identified the Busa-Kpaglahi-Danyaokura road as one of the major roads requiring urgent rehabilitation.
“We were promised that our roads were going to be worked on, but I do not know whether it was because of the change of government. Unfortunately, that has never seen the light of day”, Naa Kadri lamented.
On agriculture, the chief said the area’s economy was largely dependent on farming, and called for provisions in the budget to address the high cost of agricultural inputs, and tractor services and improve technical training for both crop and livestock farmers.
He said reducing the cost of fertilisers, and other agricultural services would ease the financial burden on farmers and improve productivity.
Mr Bayor Angnonama, Assembly Member for Baayiri Electoral Area, indicated that the construction and rehabilitation of rural roads would help improve access to markets, and reduce post-harvest losses among farmers.
“I have seen that they are clearing some areas, and there is a bit of road improvement going on. I am hoping that if they can extend that, and improve other areas, it will help us”, he said.
The Assembly Member also called for increased attention to rural electrification and provision of potable water to improve living conditions in underserved rural communities.
He urged the government to allocate adequate resources to the Ministry of Energy to extend electricity to communities yet to be connected to the national grid.
He said access to electricity, water, and reliable telecommunication networks would make rural communities more attractive for teachers, nurses, and other public sector workers.
“When we lack these things, it means that people will be trying to move to certain areas where they can get them.
They will post a teacher or a nurse to a community, but they will not go because certain amenities like electricity and water are not there and the roads too are not good”, he said.
On agriculture, he appealed for the expansion of government support programmes to cover more farmers, particularly those at the grassroots level.
He said though some farmers had benefited from government interventions, including free fertiliser distribution, many others remained excluded.
Mr James Wor, Daffiama-Bussie-Issa District Chief Executive, appealed for budgetary allocation to the District Roads Improvement Programme (DRIP) to enable Assemblies to use the machine to improve roads.
He said the District Assembly Common Fund did not make provision for the DRIP, which made it difficult to fuel the machine from the Assembly’s IGF to maintain roads.
GNA
Edited by Linda Asante Agyei
11 November 2026
Photo caption: File photo of some deplorable roads in Jimpenhi area
Reporter: Philip Tengzu, GNA
Reporter’s email: [email protected]