It would be recalled that a group of women from the Sirigu community, located within the Kassena Nankana West District of the Upper East Region, issued an ultimatum to the government. They demanded urgent action to rectify the state of their collapsed bridge, or stage a public protest in the nude.
Their outcry stemmed from the lamentable condition of the bridge, which has left the community isolated for an extensive four-year period, despite its indispensable role in connecting crucial facilities such as health centres, farmlands, and schools.
A spokesperson among the women, while addressing the media, underscored the bridge’s critical significance in their daily lives. She stated, “The broken bridge is not just a piece of concrete; it is our connection to life. Without it, we are isolated from medical care, our livelihoods, and the rest of the world. Our children miss school, and our elders suffer.”
These frustrated women vocalised their grievances during an earlier demonstration organised by community members and their Paramount Chief, Naba Roland Atogumdeya Akwara III, on Saturday, August 19, 2023.
The women, through Eden Akurugu, the Secretary to the Paramount Chief of Sirigu, on the A1 Radio’s Day Break Upper East Show today, Tuesday, October 23, 2023, reminded the government of the need to reconstruct the said bridge before the expiration of the ultimatum.
“We are not happy at all. Our queen mothers were saying that if they didn’t come to fix the bridge, they were going to organise their women to come half naked. If that is the language the president would hear, I think they would do it. I think the president is nearing hearing that language because, up until now, they have not even made a follow-up to come and assess the place and even tell us ABC so that we would be at ease. That means that they have just closed their ears to our plight. They don’t care about us. We are not human beings, and so whatever happens to us, they don’t care,” he said.
Source: A1radioonline.com|101.1MHz|Mark Kwasi Ahumah Smith|Ghana
