Wasted Efforts: Yams glut in Farms

people picking pieces of broken Yams after accident

The communities along the infamous Eastern Corridor road are planning series of demonstrationsagainst the government of the RulingNational Democratic Congress (NDC) over her inability to expedite action on the construction of that road to ease the transportation difficulties the people go through during raining seasons.

According to members of these communities, their livelihoods were deteriorating steadily each day because they could not access market centers for their farm produces which is their mainstay for lack of access road. They said that their farm produces including were glutting in their farms because of the lack of access roads. This, they said is a wasted efforts by the youth whose hard labour could help improve their livelihoods because of impediments in relations to transportation and access roads.

“We lose our people to accidents, pregnant women and infant death is on the increase and we pay exorbitant lorry fares to car owners who exploit the bad state of the road to rob us our hard earned money”, they stressed.

The communities which include Makayili, Bakpaba, Lepusi, Bimbila, and Nakpaa among other communities hit the streets to protest what they termed “unfair treatment meted out to them by the governments over the construction of the road” accused politicians for toying with their livelihoods and deceit.

In a petition addressed to the president of the Republic of Ghana Prof. John Evans Atta Mills and signed by the chairman of the Nanumba North District Federation of the Community Based Organizations (CBOs) Mr. Yakubu Robert, the Secretary, Mr. Adam Ibn Majue and copied to the Northern Regional Minister and Nanumba North District Chief Executive (DCE) warned that they would not participate in any political activities unless the government fulfill her promise to work on that trench of road to solve their transportation difficulties they go through before they could access health posts and market centers for their livelihoods needs.

The demonstration which saw pupils from various primaries and Junior High schools and opinion leaders, market women and farmers participating was second in series of planned demonstrations over the construction of Eastern corridor road.

The communities stated in their petition that they have been disillusioned by the failure of the government since 2000 to fulfill their campaign promises of construction the road.

They however appealed to the president of the Republic of Ghana to ensure that the road was given a facelift to relieve them of the transportation difficulties.

community members including pupils demonstrate against government

The petitioners also pointed out that they have not seen the seriousness the government is attaching to the construction of the project and would like to see action rather than plain words of promises.

The community members also blamed their underdevelopment problem on the lack of commitment and political will from the politicians hail from the region and urged northern parliamentarians to sit up and influence development in the area to better lives.

The petitioned which was presented to the assembly Member for Lang-ja Mr. Kpadan Solomon to be forwarded to the DCE appealed to the president to ensure the construction of the road to reduce the number of children, maternal deaths, and deaths resulting from road accidents and to open up their communities to market and health care centers to enable them access their economic and health needs.

The District Chief Executve for Nanumba North, Hon. Mohammed Ibn Abass when contacted said the government was working hard to ensure the commencement of work on that road.

He said that the government has since made available 100 million Ghana cedis for engineering works to commerce while efforts were being made to ensure the timely release of the 3 billion dollar China loan facility.

This amount the DCE said would cover projects such as Western region railway, Accra plains irrigation, and Eastern corridor road project among other things.

The DCE hinted that the government intends to also engage Ghana Army Forces Engineering department to undertake quick engineering works on the road to pave way for the construction.

He said works on the eastern corridor road would begin next and assured the demonstrating communities to exercise restrains to allow due diligence to be carried out on the road.

He said the demonstration communities were unaware of the government efforts being made to commerce the construction works on the road and assured the people the government resolved to fulfill her promise to make that road motorable.

Interestingly, the journalists who covered the demonstration chanced upon an accident involving a cargo truck with a registration number ER 928 A loaded with yams fell when the driver tried to rove his way through the potholes on the road.

The accident, according to eyewitnesses left one person dead, seven seriously injured and unspecified number of people treated and discharged with minor injuries at Bimbila Government Hospital. Thousands of tubers of yams were also destroyed. As at the time the journalists were living the scene, the community members were picking up the broken pieces of yams

The current state of the road from Bimbila to Yendi has deteriorated steadily and need an urgent patching before the actual commencement of the construction could begin if at all.