V/R: Concerned citizens of Ho to embark on peaceful demo over deplorable roads

Some residents in the Volta Regional capital, calling themselves the Concerned Citizens of Ho, are gearing up for a peaceful demonstration.

The demonstration is scheduled to take place on Thursday, 9 November, 2023.

The demonstration is a display of their growing dissatisfaction with the deteriorating state of roads, bridges, and culverts within Ho.

In recent times, several bridges and culverts have fallen into disrepair, causing major accessibility issues throughout the Ho municipality.

As a result, residents have been faced with deteriorating road conditions, severely hampering vehicular movement in the municipality.

In a letter dated Wednesday, 1 November, 2023, addressed to the Volta Regional Police Commander, the Concerned Citizens officially notified the police of their intended peaceful demonstration against the city authorities including: the Volta Regional Minister, Dr. Archibald Yao Letsa; the Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) for Ho, Richard Divine Bosson and the Ho Municipal Urban Roads Engineer, Gershon Bannerman.

This notification is in accordance with the Public Order Act (1994) Act 491.

The group has particularly bemoaned the condition of the Ho Alale/Amegashie bridge, a project initiated in 2021 that remains incomplete, rendering travel to the primary Central Business District (CBD) of Ho almost impossible.

The Amegashie bridge is a crucial link connecting residents to the main lorry station and the Ho Central Market, among other essential destinations.

The Concerned Citizens of Ho also expressed concern about other infrastructural issues, including the Ho Dornorkordzi bridge, the Ho Barracks bridge, the Ho Children's park broken culvert, the Ho Adzimakope broken culvert, and other dilapidated access roads within the municipality.

Convenor for the group, Vincent Hodoli has affirmed that the planned demonstration will proceed as scheduled.

He explained that the decision to take to the streets is a direct response to the authorities' failure to address their request for repairs, particularly with regard to the impassable Amegashie bridge section of the Ola Senior High School to Ho Central Market road within the Central Business District of Ho.

Mr Hodoli revealed that despite raising the issue with the relevant authorities three weeks ago, they received neither acknowledgement nor statements regarding the matter, which they perceive as a sign of disrespect and a lack of sensitivity to the suffering of the residents.

The demonstration is set to commence at 8:00 AM, with participants marching through the principal streets of Ho.

The group, therefore, urged residents of the Ho Municipality to join in the demonstration to put their grievances across.