We want better roads and not ballot boxes – Prestea residents

Prestea residents in the Western region have staged a protest against the government over the poor condition of their roads.

The New Prestea Movement, a youth-led group, organized and led the demonstration.

Since 2017, four contractors have been hired to work on a nineteen-kilometre stretch, but they have not made significant progress, the demonstrators claimed.

Residents are unhappy with the rough roads and potholes from Bogoso to Prestea township.

With the red bans and placards, the group is demanding to know where part of the mineral development cash is.

They have announced their intention to boycott the 2024 general elections if their roads are not repaired.

Kabiru Ibrahim, Chairman of the New Prestea Movement, emphasized the need for the government to prioritize the construction of the Prestea to Bogoso road.

“They shouldn’t wait until election year,” he remarked. We don’t want ballot boxes, but we do want nice roads. We have seen various administrations come and go throughout the years, but we still have horrible roads. We do not want them to rush and build roads during an election year because roads built during an election year are not sustainable.”

Several others expressed their dissatisfaction with the poor state of the roads, claiming that it has harmed their livelihoods.

Some of them also told the media that various mining businesses operate in the area, but that the area has been denied its fair portion of the national cake.

Meanwhile, Wisdom Cudjoe, the Member of Parliament for the Prestea Huni Valley constituency, claimed in an interview that all of his efforts to convince authorities to pay attention to their roads had failed.

As a result, he is urging Ghana’s government to prioritise the Prestea road, which has been a major source of anxiety for communities in the area.