Upper Manya Krobo farming communities appeal for roads

Mr Gabriel Miracle, Assemblymember for Anyamoni-Akokorma Electoral Area in the Upper Manya Krobo District has appealed for the construction of the road leading to Asesewa, to boost economic activities.

He said the bad nature of the road was making life difficult for the residents of seven communities around Asesewa as it contributed to post-harvest losses.

This is because farmers could not cart their foodstuffs to the market centres.
Mr Miracle was speaking in an interview with the GNA after the seven communities including; Anyamoni, Akorkoma, Dawa, Sawa and Sisi along the main road to Asesewa organised communal labour to cut the overgrown weeds and manually reshape the 14-5 kilometre stretch of road to make way for vehicles.

He said the situation was badly affecting the people who were predominantly farmers, especially with the onset of the rains.
He said the 14.5-kilometre stretch was part of a 24.5-kilometre road through to Asesewa road contract project which was stalled.

He appealed to the government to re-award the contract to facilitate speedy completion of the road and alleviate the plight of the people.

According to residents in the area, the only reliable means of transportation was motorbikes popularly known as Okada, "however due to the rains and bad nature of the road, the Okada riders either refuse to come here or charge exorbitant fees."

Sometimes for lack of means of transportation, people living in these communities trek for about seven kilometres to get to a healthcare centre or to the Government hospital at Asesewa for healthcare.

One major challenge facing the people of the Upper Manya Krobo District is the poor road network and communication network, which is one of the food baskets in the Eastern Region.

The situation, residents said was affecting farming communities, leading to continuous post-harvest losses and exorbitant transport fares as well as a decline in healthcare delivery services.

Mr Joseph Sam, the District Chief Executive for the area who joined in the communal labour applauded the Assemblymembers who organised their communities for the initiative.

He also commended the people for their communal spirit and coming out in their numbers to put the road in shape.

He said the gesture was a clear indication of local participation in the governance process and assured the people of the government's plan to construct the road.

He said that the assembly in the interim would ensure the road was shaped to enable farmers to cart their farm produce.