Upper Manya Krobo threatens

Some communities in the Upper Manya Krobo District of the Eastern Region have threatened not to vote in this year's elections should the government fail to immediately provide some basic amenities in the area.

Residents of two communities [Poponya-Fantema and Sekesua] are demanding electricity, good roads linking their communities to their farms and the two major markets in the district, and potable water as well as other developmental projects.

According to them, they are lagging behind in development because the government and leadership have failed them.

They have consequently staged a demonstration to demand their share of development, vowing that anything short of that will result in a "No Vote" in the area which they claim is the stronghold of the National Democratic Congress.

The people of Poponya-Fantema said various promises made by the government to provide them with potable water have failed, noting that even though a water treatment plant for the people of Buckonor takes its source from their community, they do not get to enjoy water from the plant.

Rather, they claim waste water from the plant is pumped back into their stretch of Volta Lake which is their main source of water, especially during the harmattan season as their only borehole goes dry.

They told TV3's Yvonne Neequayee that residents are now contracting bilhazia due to the polluted water they use.

"We and our children urinate blood. Government needs to come to our aid. Aren't we Ghanaian's too," the chief of Poponya-Fantema, Albert Tei Binyami said, adding "We have vowed not to vote if we do not get developmental projects".

Again, the residents claim that they were promised electricity but that is yet to be fulfilled, noting they do not understand why electricity transmission lines pass through their community Buckonor without being connected to the grid.

For the residents of Sekesua, their main concern is for the government to fix their deplorable roads for them, provide electricity and potable water. The bad roads in the area is causing their farm produce to rot. Vehicles have stop plying their roads leaving only motorbikes.

"Our roads have gone bad, farmers cannot travel on the poor roads to cart foodstuffs again. The dry season has affected our water bodies, we cannot get water to use, students and resident keep wake at the few borehole centres as the water drips" Benjamin Kwaku, Spokesperson for Sekesua Chief told TV3.