Chiefs and some residents of Nyamekrom a suburb of the New Juaben South Municipality in the Eastern Region, on Monday October 31, blocked some major roads in the community over their deplorable state.
According to the protestors, they have not seen any sign of road construction after the Member of Parliament for the area, Micheal Okyere Baafi and vice president, Dr Mahamadu Bawumia, cut sod for the project in 2020 as part of their 2020 campaign.
The 10.5 Kilometer-Road was expected to be completed in eighteen (18) months after the sod-cutting but has been abandoned since then, Starrfmonline reports.
Due to the bad roads, the residents indicated that their standard of living has worsened as they are unable to transport food across other communities while others are forced to pay higher cost due to the deplorable state of the road.
Addressing the media, the convener of the protestors Desmond Ameyaw said, “we the concerned citizens of Nyamekrom in Koforidua write to express our grievance and disappointment in your government for failing to honour your campaign promises as far as our road is concerned. The present Member of Parliament Hon. Michael Okyere Baafi in his campaign promises assured the good people of Nyamekrom that if we vote for him and he comes to power, he will lobby for the road to be constructed. After mounting pressure on the MP and the MCE, we were made to understand that this road has been awarded to Cocobod and categorized as cocoa road for construction but it seems that all the above are becoming a nine-day wonder.”
Aside from the effect it has on farmers and residents, pregnant women have lost their lives, and unborn children due to the bad roads as many have miscarried using the road.
It took the intervention of police to clear the road during the protest as the road blockage caused heavy traffic for commuters.