Residents of Bongo are risking their lives every day on a road that, on paper, cost more than GH¢14 million to rehabilitate but remains largely unfinished five years after work stalled, leaving exposed culverts, abandoned earthworks and dangerous sections along one of Ghana’s border corridors with Burkina Faso.
What was once presented as a strategic investment to facilitate cross-border trade and improve transportation has instead become a daily hazard for farmers, traders, commuters and motorists who rely on the Bongo-Balungu-Namoo road.
For 35-year-old trader Lydia Akurugo, every trip to the market is filled with uncertainty, especially during the rainy season.
“The road becomes almost impassable whenever it rains. We travel in fear because vehicles can easily run into the uncovered culverts. If this road had been completed, business between our communities and Burkina Faso would have improved tremendously,” she said.
Her concerns are echoed by 42-year-old farmer Maclean Ayamga Adongo, who said transporting farm produce has become increasingly difficult and expensive.
“We spend more on transport because drivers are afraid to use the road. Sometimes we even carry produce on our heads over long distances before finding a vehicle. By the time we reach the market, it is already late,” he said.
Businessman Jonathan Atebire said the abandoned project has deprived border communities of the economic opportunities they were promised.
“The road was supposed to bring development. Instead, it has become a danger to everyone who uses it.”
A project that stalled
The rehabilitation of the 8-kilometre Bongo-Balungu-Namoo road, together with the reconstruction of the collapsed Balungu Bridge, was launched on July 31, 2018, when former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo cut the sod for construction.
The contract, awarded to DAMIT Enterprise Limited at a cost of more than GH¢14 million under the Ministry of Roads and Highways, was expected to improve transportation, stimulate cross-border commerce and connect farming communities to markets.
However, construction stalled barely a year later after the contractor cited delays in government payments.
To revive the project, the Ministry of Roads and Highways, in collaboration with then Upper East Regional Minister Tangoba Abayage and the Bongo District Assembly, facilitated an interim payment of GH¢1.9 million to the contractor.
Despite the intervention, residents said work never meaningfully resumed.
Assembly raises fresh concerns
The District Chief Executive for Bongo, Diana Asoketarige Ayamga, said the Assembly has begun making inquiries into the stalled project.
“It is disappointing that, as an Assembly, I do not even know who the contractor is. I have asked the Assembly Engineer to follow up on the matter because the suffering residents, farmers and commuters are going through is unacceptable.
“It bothers me that this road has been left without any work being done,” she told A1 Radio in a telephone interview.
Bridge completed, road forgotten
Although the Balungu Bridge has since been completed, large sections of the road remain unfinished.
Particularly alarming are several culverts along the Namoo-Zorko stretch that were constructed but left uncovered or improperly connected to the road surface.
Motorcyclists, commercial drivers and pedestrians now manoeuvre around the exposed concrete structures every day, with many describing them as “accidents waiting to happen.”
Residents said the danger becomes even greater at night and during heavy rains, when floodwaters conceal the culverts and make them almost impossible to detect.
Communities paying the price
The abandoned project continues to affect livelihoods in Sambolgo, Lungu, Namoo and Zorko.
Farmers said transportation costs have increased because many commercial drivers refuse to use the road. Access to schools, healthcare facilities and markets also becomes difficult whenever rains wash over unfinished sections.
The poor condition of the road has also affected cross-border trade.
Articulated truck drivers transporting goods between Ghana and Burkina Faso increasingly avoid the corridor, opting instead for the longer Navrongo-Paga and Vea-Gowrie routes, depriving businesses around the Namoo border of much-needed commercial activity.
Calls for accountability
Community leaders, youth groups and residents are calling on the Ministry of Roads and Highways to urgently resolve the impasse by compelling DAMIT Enterprise Limited to return to the site and complete the remaining works or terminate the contract and engage another contractor.
For many residents, the issue has moved beyond poor infrastructure.
It is now about public safety, economic survival and government accountability.
Attempts by A1 Radio to obtain responses from officials of the Ministry of Roads and Highways and DAMIT Enterprise Limited before publication were unsuccessful.
For traders like Lydia Akurugo, every journey to the market is a reminder that a project intended to connect communities and boost trade has instead become a daily gamble with their lives.
Until work resumes, residents say the GH¢14 million Bongo-Namoo road will remain not a symbol of development, but a monument to delayed public infrastructure and unfulfilled promises.
A1 Radio | 101.1 MHz | Moses Apiah | Bolgatanga
