Wa, Sept 27, GNA - Mr. George Hikah Benson, Upper West Regional Minister has observed that any meaningful poverty reduction strategy in the Region would require the availability of good feeder road network to facilitate the movement of goods and services.

He said the deplorable condition of roads had been a source of worry to the chiefs and people in the Region. He said because of the heavy rains the Region experienced last year and this year, roads in the area had deteriorated and needed urgent rehabilitation.

Mr Benson raised these concerns at a public forum on financing road maintenance in Ghana in Wa.

The Ghana Road Fund organised the forum to sensitise the public and stakeholders on the Fund and financing of road maintenance in the country.

Mr Benson said some parts of the Region had been completely cut off during the rainy season.

He mentioned the Tumu-Sissili-Navrongo, Tumu-Ham, Wahabu-Funsi-Sombisi and Tumu Hamile roads, among others as some of the important roads that had not been accessible during the rainy season. He called for the regular maintenance of roads in the Region to facilitate the movement of people, goods and foodstuffs from the food producing areas to the market centres in the Region.

The Upper West Region has a total road network of 4,481 kilometres comprising highways, urban roads and feeder roads. Mr Benson said the few good roads in the Region were also not regularly maintained due to lack of funds.

These shortcomings impact negatively on agricultural production resulting in foodstuffs getting rotten at farm gates. "Most of our people in the rural areas depend on the sale of agricultural produce for their livelihood and as losers, the vicious cycle of poverty becomes more and more entrenched," Mr Benson said. "Our people in such circumstance are compelled to travel on foot with their head loads of foodstuffs to sell at cheaper prices to middlemen and other intermediaries at urban marketing centres," he added.