AN OPEN LETTER TO HIS EXCELLENCY PRESIDENT AKUFO ADDO
Your Excellency, it is with due respect and honour to your high office, and heart full of pains and grievance that I write to you today. I want to start by commending you for your effort so far by touring the Volta region. However,
Mr. President, I want to state that only greedy people are interested in robbing money from innocent people without providing quality service. Moreover, a government is liable for providing basic necessities of life to its citizens. Some of these basic needs are water, transportation, which includes adequate and well maintained roads, security, where citizens feel safe, ensuring that the rule of law is being enforced and healthcare.
Your Excellency, did you know that good roads and highways plays major role in nation building and contributes hugely to the country’s economic activities through which goods are transported between cities as well as people, across the country to offer services, providing employments, speeding healthcare delivery etc.
Your Excellency, I am writing to draw your attention to the bad state of the roads in the Volta Region, especially the worse deplorable, dilapidated, unmotorable state of the eastern corridor road and to appeal to you to declare the construction and completion of the road as state of emergency.
Mr. President, this road has become a nightmare to the entire people of Volta, Northern region. It is no longer motorable and we are crying out loud. The road is of great importance to us since it is the linkage between five(5) regions Greater Accra, Eastern, Ashanti, Volta and the upper East.
The condition of this road has brought about many changes; though negative changes like… Change in transportation fee, Delay on the road due to potholes and swamps. Constant accident, Breakdown of vehicles, Delay in healthcare delivery… Etc.
However, the people of Volta has cried severally to governments for the past years over this road but to no avail and there was no proper action taken.
Mr. president, during 2012 to 2016 we saw efforts of the then government in power awarded the road some six(6) different contractors. Overtime, the people of Volta feel neglected, rejected, cheated and asked so many questions but who can answer us? All we know is every government plays politics game with us.
Mr. President, we were happy to see the roads being awarded in the heat to 2016 electioneering year and all that came into our mind was finally our plight has been heard only to see contraction work has come to halt with no explanation given. Moreover whom do we ask? And I ask is this Ghana? Are we not citizens enough than spectators? Dead Goat or live Dog?
Your Excellency, I want to categorically state that your government has not done much for us for nineteen(19) months in office to win our trust. And I ask again is this Ghana, Is this the change we voted for? Though I applauded you for the introduction of free education but should we allow accident, delay in accessing healthcare delivery due to bad nature of the road finish our generations? And I ask who is going to enjoy the free education in the future? What happen to over 90% of eastern corridor road dwellers who develops permanent disabilities, broken down vehicles, post-harvest loses of perishable food substances etc. due to the worst nature of the road.
Mr. President fix our road. That’s all we are asking for. We have not benefitted much from your government. We feel been abandoned. We need a Volta loving government dont be like other governments.
However, do our own MPs, Chiefs, and government Appointees care about the plight of the real people they represent? I dont want to believe theyre dinning with governments for their selfish interest. My people be up and doing, we want to feel your care.
Mr. President, allow me to break protocol by stating that the formal government did his bid and awarded the road to constrictors and a portion has been fixed from Asikuma to Peki, Nyangbo to Logba. I can also say that about 10 to 20% portions of the road has been fixed only to see the contractors stopped work after 2016 election. I thought governance is a continuous process. I was heartbroken when the Road Minister Mr Kwesi Amoako Atta he addressed the chiefs Volta at Hohoe during the presidents three (3) days tour of the region that COCOBOD founded portion of the road from Have through Hohoe to Jasikan stretches and payment has been suspended and Dodi Pepesu to Nkwanta also founded by an EU loans of over 320 million euros, suffers delayed payments and were abandoned. He further promised government is working hard to make it motorable. He also assured the chiefs that the six contractors will be back to work within two weeks but for almost four weeks now nothing has been seen, heard or feel. Rescue our road. Eastern corridor road is all that we have.
Mr. President we have been silence for long, I am appealing to you to declare the road as a state of emergency to be fixed. After and nothing is done, we shall embark on a peaceful protest. Route: from Todome Kpalime through Kpeve, Kuati, Hohoe to Jasikan where road users may not be able to access major road for like four hours. And we will address the press at Hohoe to the MMDCEs and Regional Minister to reach the presidency so as to facilitate the rehabilitation of this road.
By: Obiri Kwaku Rowland.
