On countless occasions, the Chiefs, residents of Kandiga and Sirigu in the Kassena-Nankana West District of the Upper East region have had a cause to complain about the deplorable state of the Kandiga-Sirigu road.
The road which links the two farming communities becomes dusty during the dry season and inaccessible during the rainy season.
The wide potholes on the road accrue water and making it unmotorable to commuters. The situation according to residents, makes it difficult for traders and farmers to transport goods and foodstuff during the rainy season.
“We have made several appeals to the Kassena-Nankana West District Assembly and the Member of Parliament for Chiana-Paga but they are not paying heed to our calls. Most of our cases in the health centers are referred to Bolga or Navrongo. The women in labor and the unborn child are always at risk when we are referring them”, the Chief of the Kandiga Traditional Area, Naba Henry Abawine Amenga-Etego II lamented.
This came to light when the chief mobilizes the youth and elders of Kandiga community to reshape part of the road after fruitless efforts to get government fixes the bad nature of the road.
Chairman of the Kandiga Area Council, Mathew Akakuzia speaking to A1 NEWS revealed that community members are sometimes stranded either in Bolgatanga or Navrongo because commercial drivers feel reluctant to ply the road due to its bad nature. Aside from that, he said the deplorable nature of the road affects education in the area.
“When it rains heavily, students and teachers find it difficult using the road. Sometimes teachers and students have to turn away from home upon reach to the inaccessible areas. Health delivery is hampered because nurses too find it difficult accessing the road.”
Mr. Akakuzia who doubles as an assemblyman for the Nindongo electoral area said the chief and people have realized the looming danger that awaits road users as the rains sets in, contributed and hire the services of a tipper truck for gravel to be poured on the road.
The Kandiga-Sirigu road connects other communities such as Yua, Natugnia, Mirigu, Nabango and links vibrant markets such as the Kandiga and the Sirigu Markets which serve as a major source of revenue points for the Kassena-Nankana West District.
The Chief of Sirigu, Naba Roland Akwara Atogumdeeya III in a sad moment, recollected how the deplorable nature of the road contributed to the death of his stepmother when the woman was referred from the community health center and to the regional hospital in Bolgatanga.
“I lost my direct stepmother through the road. She was referred from the health center here and when they got to the bridge they couldn’t pass and the woman died. We have been cut off, we can’t go to Bolga or Navrongo. Five months ago, we had five consecutive fire outbreaks in the Sirigu market. It was difficult for a fire tender to enter the market. Finally, the fire tender diverted its way and got stuck trying to enter the community.”
In their own way to avert another loss of life through the road, the Chief of Sirigu Naba Roland Akwara Atogumdeeya III after fruitless engagements with stakeholders was compelled to mobilize natives to contribute and get cement and iron rods to repair a broken bridge on the road.
Raymond Aitibasa Atanga, a native of Sirigu who called on the government to fix the bad road that makes vehicular movement a daily ordeal stated that the community may soon be cut off because “culverts on another road that links Sirigu to Zorko are in a deplorable state and needs to be fixed immediately.
Another resident of Sirigu, Akambo Gideon who lauded the initiative of the chiefs said “as the rains sets in, if you go into the schools, most of the classrooms are always empty because students and teachers cannot access the roads to schools”.
At the time of filing this report, all efforts to get the Kassena-Nankana West District Chief Executive, Gerald Ataogye to speak on measures the assembly is doing to reshape the deplorable road proved futile.
But the Member of Parliament for the Chiana-Paga constituency, Thomas Dalu when contacted stated that the government’s delay in releasing the district assembly common fund has been a challenge for him to help reshape the road. He has therefore promised to lay the concerns of the road users before parliament for redress.
Source: A1Radioonline.com|101.1Mhz|Joshua Asaah
