Residents Hit Street Over Bad Roads

Pregnant women and Nursing Mothers on Thursday joined over 700 protesters at Asamankese and demonstrated against deplorable nature of roads in some parts of the Eastern region. The demonstration was organized by a Koforidua based Civil Society group known as Mass Action For Development. The protestors clad in red dresses and red bands, hoisted placards with different inscriptions and embarked on massive demonstration through the principal streets of Asamankese to vent their displeasure against government over worsening conditions of road networks in the region, especially, the Akyem Abuakwa enclave. The pregnant women stated that due to the bad nature of roads in the area, they experience miscarriages, adding that some pregnant women who need emergency medical care at the referral hospitals in Koforidua and Accra, die on the road due to the bad condition of the roads and appealed to President John Mahama to as a matter of urgency come to their aid to construct the roads. Participants of the demonstration were market women, taxi drivers, students, pregnant women, and some aged men and women. Some inscriptions on the placards read '' Eastern Region deserves better, President Mahama fix our roads, please leave Ghana for us, Woyome Money can fix the roads and Yentie Obiaa Aban among others. Some farmers and traders carried foodstuffs on their heads to show how their farm produce is rotting due to the deplorable roads in the area. The convener of the Mass Action For Development, Kingsly Fosu Ntiamoah, addressing the media at the Asamankese main lorry station noted that, the group is not demanding anything extraordinary from the government, but they need improvement on the road networks in the Eastern region. He stated that the government is not serious with the region in terms of development, adding that, for the past six years, the administration has refused to repair the deplorable roads in the region after numerous promises made. Mr. Ntiamoah noted that some deplorable roads in the region which need urgent construction by government are; Suhum - Asamankese, Kitase - Brekuso, Aburi - Adammorabe, Aburi- Nsawam to Suhum, Nkwakwa to Abirim and Akyem Oda to Kade. The rest are parts of Koforidua and Affraim Plains and surrounding areas, are all in deplorable state, which the government has refused to repair despite numerous appeals by the Eastern Regional House of chiefs, led by the Okyenhene, Osagyefo Amoatia Ofori Panin. The group leader, Kingsley Fosu, New Patriotic Party member Stephen Ntim, Member of Parliament for the area, Gifty Kleman, presented a petition to the Lower West Akim Municipal Chief Executive (MCE), George Akpalu to forward to the President. The Municipal Town Planning officer received the petition on behalf of the MCE who was reluctant to meet the demonstrators.