Woes of Sissala East most neglected community, Kalaxi

Kalaxi is the most neglected community in the Sissala East constituency in the Upper West Region of Ghana.

This is because the community has been cut off from its mother municipality and region by an ox-bow-like large river called River Kunkuno.

Consequently, this has over the years resulted in the community being denied access or provided with social services including health care, education, the Livelihood Empowerment against Poverty(LEAP), disability fund, electricity, road network, health insurance, CHRAJ, Planting for Food and Jobs, Rearing for Food and Export, Free Senior High, among others by its own mother municipality, region, and country at large.

The community is located in the South-Eastern part of the constituency, and it is on record to be the farthest community in the Municipality because it is about 60 kilometers away from the Municipal capital, Tumu.

The community has a voter population of over 120.

Despite losing about 200 people to an annex community called Kalaxi Number 2 that relocated to settle under Bulsa South of the Upper East Region, the community still has a total population of about 160.

The primary occupation of the people of Kalaxi is crop cultivation including millet, cowpeas, and maize.

They also rear livestock and fishing as well in the Kunkuno River.

The people in the community are predominantly Sissalas by the tribe.

The community is Geographically very close to the Upper East Region especially the Southern part of the Bulisa South but administratively, it is under Sissala East Municipality in the Upper West Region.

The community currently can only boast of a borehole that was drilled in the year 2005 as the only government facility since time immemorial.

This borehole was constructed by a former member of parliament for the area, Mr. Moses Dani Baah, and ever since then, the community is yet to be recognized for any serious social services.

During a visit paid to the community by a rural and photography journalist, Mr. Ayamga Bawa Fatawu the Chief of Kalaxi, Kuoru Kawme Aspuru, and his people have told him that the only time government officials would visit them is every four years which only happens in build-up to general elections particularly when EC officials go to conduct elections.

And that, before the elections day, "one or two people would come here to campaign on behalf of their candidates and when elections are done, even the MCE and MP is never seen or introduced to us".

According to them, the only sitting MPs to have ever visited them were Mr. Moses Dani Baah and Madam Sulemana Alijata.

However, they told Mr. Ayamga Bawa Fatawu that no Municipal Chief Executive while in office, has ever visited them to date despite several efforts to court for their visitation to the area for them to have first-hand information on their plights.

But they have disclosed that the current member of parliament Mr. Issahaku Amidu Chinnia during one of his campaigns, supported them to procure a canoe as their only means of transport over the Kunkuno River, which, however, is currently not - in- good- shape.

Also, their ancestral language, Sissali has diminished amongst the people in the community since, according to them, they are seemingly disconnected from their tribemates and the entire municipality, which thus, had compelled them to resort to marrying and socializing with the Buli tribe in the Upper East Region.

They also lamented the state at which some of their people had to relocate to communities like Kanjaga, Fumbisi, Sandema to constitute a full community within the territory of the Upper East territory christened Kalaxi Number 2.

Also, the community while recounting a recent loss of life out of drowning in September this year has bemoaned the space at which they lose some of their relatives and love ones to the Kunko river in an attempt to cross it for essentials such as food, health care among others.

They also recounted how they distressingly had to save school children from drowning in the river on several occasions while on their way to school during the rainy season.

Ironically, they say these woes will however not make them change their minds to cease being part of the Sissala East Municipality because "our great grandparents have vowed to us, not to opt-out of being with our kin".

They are however pleading on authorities and benevolent persons to provide them with health care services, school infrastructure, access to potable water, accessibility to social interventions such as LEAP and market centers among others.