Correspondence from the Western Region
Residents of Adusuazo in the Jomoro Municipality of the Western Region, have expressed their disappointment in President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and his government for failing to reconstruct the Adusuazo-Takinta road.
Adusuazo is endowed with cash crops such as coconut and cocoa and other foodstuffs but the road network leading to the area is in a very deplorable state.
In 2020, the Akufo-Addo-led government commenced the construction works on the stretch but on Thursday, October 5, 2023, GhanaWeb's Western Regional Correspondent, Daniel Kaku visited the area and met no contractor working on the road.
Our correspondent also observed that the road network had deteriorated to the extent of compelling commercial drivers to stop plying the road.
Currently, the only means of transportation by residents is the use of motorbikes (okada) and Daniel experienced it himself.
The bumpy and muddy road network in the area is forcing okada riders to charge unapproved fares.
It is also causing a lot of miscarriages in the area.
Speaking to GhanaWeb, some residents expressed their frustrations over the current state of the road network.
They recalled that in 2020, the road was given to a contractor yet, nothing has been done on the road.
"We are suffering here. Our road network links us to so many communities such as Half Assini and Takinta. Because our road network is in a deplorable state, we find it difficult to go to Half Assini on a daily basis,", one elder of the Adusuazo community said.
He stated, "The only means of transportation here is Okada, cars don't come here regularly because the road network is in a very deplorable state, and sometimes pregnant women complain about miscarriages over the road. Some also give birth prematurely."
He, therefore, expressed anger over the situation by threatening to boycott the 2024 general elections in the area.
"We vote massively in this community in any general election but our road is in a bad state so if they don't construct our road for us, we will let our Chief restrict any resident here to participate in the 2024 general election," he emphasised.
"If they don't construct our road for us, we will not vote in 2024 so if the roads minister and Ghana Gas company do not fix it, there is no way we will vote in 2024. They came on the road to construct it in 2020 but have stopped the work. Let me say that we don't want any shoddy work and just a reshaping but we want our road to be tarred because our community produces a lot of coconut and cocoa. We are farmers but we are suffering," he added.
Other residents who spoke to GhanaWeb also expressed their displeasure over the road and took the opportunity to beseech President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and his government to construct their bad road network before 2024.
"Because our road network is not good, okada riders are charging us GH¢10 instead of GHC5 from here to Takinta so we are appealing to them to construct our road for us so that we can feel comfortable," they pleaded.
Daniel Kaku also observed that the telecommunications network in the community was very poor.
Watch the bad nature of the Adusuazo-Takinta road in Jomoro Municipality below: