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The Eastern regional youth organizer of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC), Haruna Apaw-Wiredu has begun dredging of the Bedise River at Akwadum in the New Juaben Municipality of the Eastern Region following threats by residents to revolt against politicians who attempt to campaign in the area and subsequently, boycott the 2016 elections.

The dredging is estimated to cost GH¢20,000.00. The dredging exercise would help mitigate the impact of flooding in the area.

Hundreds of people are always displaced by the floods whenever there is a heavy downpour which also destroys property worth thousands of Cedis including livestock in the area.

The affected residents mostly the Zongo community, therefore, threatened to boycott the 2016 elections if the problem is not fixed and warned to resist any campaign by politicians in the area in 2016.

Speaking to the Daily Heritage, Mr Apaw-Wiredu who went unopposed in the New Juaben North parliamentary primary of the NDC said the move was to safeguard votes for President John Mahama and the NDC in the area.

“In the first place, I am undertaking this project on humanitarian and political grounds. The people here suffer whenever it rains, their property submerge and get destroyed. If care is not taken it may lead to loss of lives. The Agenda 50/50 is crucial to President Mahama’s victory in 2016, so we need to do something in our own small way to support it.”

Residents say they have made several appeals to the authorities on several occasions on the urgent need to dredge the River which joins River Densu, but the appeals fell on deaf ears.

A resident told the paper “I am a teacher and I sometimes get shocked when I begin to think about politicians-they are selfish and greedy, we have made several appeals and petitions to our Members of Parliament (MP).

“We started during Hackman Owusu Agyeman’s tenure with similar correspondence to the incumbent MP, Nana Adjei Boateng and even the New Juaben Municipal Assembly, but they always come to inspect and promise to do something about it whenever we are displaced, but for over 10 years now nothing has been done until today, so we decided to block politicians from campaigning here in 2016, so we thank this young man for his swift solution to our problems.”