Bakuala,(UW), July 13, GNA-Residents of Pieng, a community in the Sissala East Municipality has embarked on communal labour to fill up a broken bridge serving as a link to communities and other adjoining towns in the area.
The residents took the step, in collaboration with other neighboring communities, to temporarily fill the over 40-year-old broken bridge with stones and gravel to put it back in shape, while awaiting government’s major intervention.
In an interview with Ghana News Agency (GNA), Kuoro Humphrey Tordia Bunkpan, Chief of Pieng, a Divisional Chief who led the activity said the broken bridge had affected mobility and economic activities in the area, adding that “we are serious and unhappy about the state of our road, we mobilised over 20 motor trucks and levied members to buy fuel to help ourselves”.
He said the broken state of the bridge had since made it difficult for vehicles to transport goods and services especially during raining season using the bridge linking to over 20 other communities ahead.
“Agro inputs for farmers can’t be carried across, how can farmers go to their farms to produce the maize that the country needs. Anytime a community member falls sick, we are always passing through other towns like Sakai instead of the Tumu-Bakuala-Pieng feeder road which becomes winding and makes it stressful for the people,” he added.
He, therefore appealed to the government to acknowledge their effort and get the road fixed immediately to restore economic activities in the area.
Mr Hassan Basugu, the Assembly Member of Pieng and Challu electoral area said the broken bridge had disadvantaged the community economically saying, “We have been neglected for a long time, the communities on this road produce a lot of food stuff and it’s immoral to abandon it.”
He said the Pieng community was committed to making the bridge motorable and assured that the people of Challu would also continue with the communal labour later.
Mr Ben Balahahari, the Unit Committee Chairman of the Pieng Community said the communal labour was to demonstrate to government of the community internally driven intervention to temporarily solve their problems and appealed to government to come to their aid.
GNA