Chiefs, Asafoatse and residents of Anum in the Eastern Region are frustrated with what they say is the slow response from the government and the Asuogyaman District Assembly in addressing drainage and road concerns in their community.
Some of them who voiced their frustration at the inconvenience caused by the situation called on the government to as a matter of urgency to address the problem which has lingered on for several years.
Kontihene of the Anum Traditional Area, Osahene Nana Owusu Ntow IV decried the lack of proper drainages and motorable loads leading to and in the Anum community, adding that despite persistent assurances from past and present governments to solve the problem, steps are yet to be taken.
“The main problem is about the roads, our roads are very, very bad and it seems like we are not in Ghana because they don’t regard us,” said the Kontihene, adding that politicians were taking the people for granted. “Politicians will come around and say whatever they’ll say but after that [nothing happens]."
The Kontihene who recalled earlier promises to fix the road prior to the 2016 elections said visitors to the community always complained about the nature of the road.
He said farmers, particularly, were the worst victims of the situation as transporting their produce from the farms to major cities such as Accra for sale was difficult.
“The farmers, after harvesting need to take the produce from Anum to Accra [but] you can’t get a big car because the road is bad. You can’t do anything because, without roads, a lot of things don’t go on,” he told GhanaWeb.
He said though a lot of discussions had been held with the roads minister to address the problem, confidence in the assurances that works would be carried out soon are low.
He nevertheless appealed to the government to “as soon as possible” come to the aid of the residents by fixing the roads to ensure the smooth transport of people and goods.
Asafoatse Kofi Osae of the Anum Traditional Area also complained about the effects the lack of drainages were having on the community.
According to him, the lack of drainages and access roads in the area was a threat to the Volta Lake and the Akosombo Dam in particular as refuse carried from the community could soon end up in the Lake Volta.
“If we don’t construct the road and drainages, the floodwaters from here could end up in the Volta Lake because when it’s choked with garbage, it’ll be carried by the floodwaters all the way into the lake which could also affect the Akosombo dam,” he said.
He, therefore, appealed to the government to ensure that drains and gutters are constructed to address the problem.
A resident, Yaw Odame Boadu shared similar views regarding the state of drainages in the Anum community.
He said, “We need to construct gutters on the sides of the roads to carry the floodwaters to join the main drainage as well as the bridge and the road developed.”
