By Anthony Adongo Apubeo
Temapane (U/E), Jan 5, GNA – Poor Road network coupled with lack of some basic social amenities in the Tempane District of the Upper East Region is retarding development, Concerned Citizens of the area have bemoaned.
At a press conference held at Tempane, the citizens including Assembly members and youth groups, said apart from many of the roads in the area being in deplorable state and unmotorable, some road projects that had started had also been abandoned with some dating back about three years.
They said the roads have been washed away by rains and running water while road projects started with some bridges and culverts fixed were getting worse due to lack of maintenance and attention for several years.
This, they said, had brought untold hardships on the business community, public sector workers, education and health among others and appealed to the government to as matter of urgency take steps to work on the bad roads in the area.
Some of the roads mentioned include the Bugri-Corner through Bugri-Basyonde to Basyonde junction, Apiilug junction through Akara-Woriyanga-Yabrago to Tempane Senior High School junction, Gagbiri township to Tempane-Adomeabra and Kpikpira to Nambina roads.
Mr Sampson Assana Assemblyman for Karateshir Electoral Area, one of the leaders of the group, said the district had about 10 markets which attracted business people from various areas including neighbouring countries of Togo and Burkina Faso and served as a transit center for people and goods.
He said the bad nature of the roads had not only prevented workers and school children from accessing their workplaces and schools especially during the rainy season, but farmers had also over years recorded post-harvest losses as they are unable to transport their farm produce to the market centers.
“The devastating effects of this long-lasted cancer is that many businessmen and women longer p no longer patronize our roads and markets due to the above-mentioned transportation challenges the district faced, there is therefore significant reduction in revenue generation and business development within the district with its attending unemployment and increase in social vices in the district.
“Most workers posted to these communities, after assessing the area go back and request for reposting with major complain being the nature of roads.”
“It is worth mentioning that pupils within these affected communities now go to school only during the dry season which affects their academic work due to reduced contact hours,” he said.
He said the attention of the Tempane District Assembly and the Member of Parliament had been drawn to the situation but had yielded no results and have therefore given government to the end of January 2023, to get the contractors back on site to complete the road projects to bring relief to the citizens.
He also explained that the district was yet to receive its share of the One District One Factory policy while the dams constructed under the one village one dam policy were not good enough to contain water for dry season farming in the area which is a farming community.
“We are Ghanaian citizens, and we deserve our share of the national cake meant for roads construction and other relevant development.”
“We must state that if there is further delay in bringing the contractors back to site, we the youth will be left with no option than to take drastic measures.” He stressed.
GNA.