Residents of the Sissala East Municipality and Sissala West District are threatening to boycott the Presidential and Parliamentary elections in 2020 if government does not take immediate steps to fix roads in the area; chief among which is the Wa – Han – Tumu – Bolga road.
Registering their displeasure through a protest through the streets of Tumu, the residents led by the Sissala Youth Forum (SYF) recalled that although on March 23, earlier this year at the annual Paregbiele festival, the President was honored with the title ‘Nandontegne’ which means ‘True and Trusted Friend,’ the President is yet to prove himself as a ‘True and Trusted Friend’ of the Sissala people.
The President of SYF, Yahaya Mumuni reading a petition on behalf of the Sissala people after the protest indicated that the President has failed to act on assurances he gave them that construction works on roads in the Sissala areas would begin in earnest.
“Mr President, when you attended the climax of the 2019 Paregbiele Festival of the Chiefs and People of the Sissala Traditional Areas on March 23, (earlier this year), you were honored with the accolade Nandontegne meaning a True and Trusted Friend,” Mr Mumuni reminded the President.
He went on to add that “As we gather here, we are yet to see your demonstration of Nandontegne when it comes to our roads”.
According to the Sissala Youth Forum (SYF), the Upper West Region has a total road coverage of 3,041 kilometres. The Sissala area has about 1,410.2 kilometres of the road, representing 45.2 percent of the entire regional road coverage. This includes engineered, partially engineered and un-engineered roads.
In his petition to the President of the Ghana, the President of SYF, Yahaya Mumuni said it is unfortunate that the Sissala area which is the food basket of the Upper West Region and a major producer of maize in Ghana would still be battling with deplorable roads.
He mentioned that their checks showed that although most of the roads have been awarded on contracts, government is yet to effect payment for work to begin.
Mr. Mumuni was unhappy that the roads in the Sissala areas were not captured under the critical roads in the 2020 budget.
He mentioned the Wa – Tumu – Bolga through Han road, Tumu – Welembelle – Funsi through Wahabu road, Tumu – Bugubelle – Kajukperi through Wahabu roads as major roads that needed immediate attentions.
Others are Tumu – Gwollu – Lambussie through Zini and Suke road, Gwollu – Bullu linking Han through Jefisi road, Tumu – Dolinbizon and Nmanduanu through Nabugbelle road, Tumu – Challu through Kulfuo to Bichemboi and Nabulo road.
The rest are the Welebelle – Nabulo to Sandema through Santijan road and the Tumu and Gwollu town roads.
The President of SYF said the “Tumu – Sorbelle road that is being upgraded is a death trap for the citizenry”.
Mr. Mumuni disclosed that instead of gravel, the contractor was using clay; a situation that caused the road to be excessively dusty.
In addition to the roads, the Sissala Youth Forum called for strigent measure to be put in place to end the what he termed as erratic power supply in the area adding that “within a day, power can go off for more than 12 times”.
He said that the Sissala people had paid their dues to the President by voting for him massively in both the Presidential and Parliamentary election in 2016.
Mr. Mumuni stressed that if their issues are not resolved, “the Sissala people will boycott the 2020 Presidential and Parliamentary elections”.
A private agri-processor and CEO of Kedan Limited, Eric Dankwa Kissi said the deplorable roads make it difficult for players in the agriculture sector to compete with their counterparts in Southern Ghana.
Mr. Kissi said it takes him more 6 hours to cart produce from the Tumu and other parts of the Sissala Area to the regional capital, Wa.
“When the trucks are bringing fertilizers and other inputs to the Sissala area, I am sure they start thinking about how to increase their charges because the wear and tear on their truck is too high. From a business point of view, the road needs to be fixed now. It is very difficult for my business to compete with any business that is located in Kumasi or Accra. If any order is made, within 30 minutes or 1 hour, a competitor can make a delivery. How about me?” he quizzed.
Mr. Kissi appealed to government to fix the roads as that would make businesses like his in the area retain their competitive edge.
A development partner and Executive Director of CDA, Salifu Issifu Kanton said the Sissala area also deserves a fair share of the national resources. Mr Kanton said he could not fathom why the Wa – Tumu – Bolga road has still not been fixed adding that “since 2008 the road has always been captured in the budget”.
He said the Sissala people have always trusted the President thus the election of Parliamentarians from three Sissala Areas; Sissala East, Sissala West and Wa East Constituency and also conferring the title ‘Nandontegne’ conferred on the President. Mr Kanton said the onus now lies with the President to show that he is indeed a true friend of the Sissala people.
The MCE for Sissala East, Karim Nanyua who received the petition on behalf of the Regional Minister for onward submission to the president said government is committed to ensuring that resources are committed to ensuring better roads in the Sissala East Municipality and Sissala West District.
Story filed by Mark Smith
