The people of Nkroful, the birthplace and original burial home of Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, the nation’s first president; and those of nearby communities right from Esiama to Aiyinase, as well as Teleku-Bokazo to Simpa Junction, are poised to spit venom in what they promise to be an unprecedented mammoth demonstration, come 28th August 2019, against the Hon. Roads and Highways Minister for deceiving them.
The roads from Esiama through Nkroful right up to Aiyinase; and a branch one from Teleku-Bokazo up to the Tarkwa Simpa Junction, has been neglected for a very long time.
It has become very bumpy, with countless potholes turned into manholes. Worse still, is the rate at which Makam Plant Hire (MPH); a construction company cutting boulders to the Axim Sea Defence Project, speed off the road, just as vehicles of Adamus Resources Limited (an Australian Gold Mining Company based at Nkroful) also does.
Vehicles of these companies, especially the haulage ones, force people to inhale unmeasurable volumes of dust every night and day.
The gross effect is that many stores and shops along the road have been closed down by their owners, many taxis have stopped plying that stretch of road; as their owners can no longer spend all the monies they get into buying spare parts.
The communities are said to be fed up with the numerous times government officials; from the Honorable Member of Parliament, District Chief Executives to the Roads and Highways Minister have given promises on dates of fixing the bad roads, but never coming into reality.
More disturbing to the people, is the health implications of the volume of dust the people inhale everyday and night.
In an exclusive interview with Hon. Lord S. K. Cudjoe (an Assembly Member of Nkroful, also known as Kojokritical), on Ankobra 101.9 FM’s Morning Show with Paa Kwesi, the former said that the people are resolve that there was the need to let the world know how unfair both NDC and NPP governments have treated them as far as the state of the road is concerned.
He explained further that this demonstration is however against the Roads and Highways Minister, Hon. Kwesi Amoako Atta. According to Lord Cudjoe, the Minister reneged on his promise of making sure that works on the roads ‘will commence in two weeks’ time, from 6th November 2018’ when he met the Chiefs and people of the Akomu Traditional Area at Nkroful, the capital of the Ellembelle District.
Nothing was heard from that time, till our Chief, Nana Kwasi Kutuah V of Nkroful booked appointment upon which a delegation including the Assembly Members and some Elders and the Chief of Nkroful went to meet the Minister again, on 9th March 2019.” Yet at that meeting, the Assembly Member lamented that the Minister gave so much assurance of the road being attended to in the shortest possible time.
Again, we are being disillusioned by the Minister’s promise. Aside these, several other consultations and engagements have been held with other key stakeholders but have not yielded the expected result, hence we feel that a peaceful demonstration is the best language to communicate our message now’
Answering whether this situation of Demonstration has been made known at the floor of the District Assembly, Lord Cudjoe answered to the affirmative, explaining that both himself and the Hon. Samuel Yankey, another Assembly Member of Nkroful, have raised the issue severally at that forum and other meetings with the DCE and the MP, but only had their respective promises that the processes were advanced for commencement of works sooner than later.
However, he emphasized that the number of times promises have failed to be fulfilled, makes it difficult to lean on recent ones.
The Assembly Member said that all the communities affected by the bad state of the roads counting up to about 14 together with all drivers of commercial vehicles plying the roads, will register their collective grievance , come that 28th August.
He warns that the government must not lose cognizance of the fact that the affected communities, making an estimated voter population of sixty thousand, punished the NDC in the 2016 Elections by making it lose in the Nkroful Area; with the hope that the NPP was going to help fix the road.
Needless to say that if things remain as they are till 2020, “we in the affected Area can know the results of the Elections before going to the polls”.
Story credit: Don Jared (Kritical Tymz Media)
