Your Excellency, it is with due respect and honour to your high office, and heart full of pains and grievance that I write to you today. I want to start by commending you for your efforts so far by touring the Volta Region.
Mr. President, I wish to state that only greedy people are interested in robbing money from innocent people without providing quality service. Moreover, a government is responsible for providing basic necessities of life to its citizens. Some of these basic needs are water, transportation, which includes adequate and well-maintained roads, security, where citizens feel safe, ensuring that the rule of law is being enforced, and healthcare.
Your Excellency, did you know that good roads and highways play major role in nation building and contribute hugely to the country’s economic activities being mediums through which goods are transported between cities as well as people, speeding healthcare delivery, among others across the country?
Your Excellency, I am writing to draw your attention to the poor state of the roads in the Volta Region, especially the deplorable, dilapidated, unmotorable state of the Eastern Corridor road and to appeal to you to declare the construction and completion of the road as a state of emergency.
Mr. President, this road has become a nightmare to the entire people of Volta and Northern regions. It is no longer motorable and we are crying out loud. The road is of great importance to us since it links to 5 regions namely, Greater Accra, Eastern, Ashanti, Volta and the Upper East.
The condition of this road has brought about many changes. Negative changes. Change in transportation fee, delay on the road due to potholes and swamps, constant accidents, breakdown of vehicles, delay in healthcare delivery, etc.
Meanwhile, the people of Volta Region had cried severally to previous governments over this road and continue to cry for the current government but to no avail. No action, no show.
Your Excellency, during 2012 to 2016, we saw efforts of the then government in power award the road to some 6 different contractors. Overtime, the citizens feel neglected, rejected, cheated and asked so many questions but who can answer us? All we know is every government plays game of politics with us.
Mr. President, we were happy to see the roads being awarded in the heat of the 2016 electioneering year and all that came into our mind was finally, our plight was to be over only to realise that construction works had come to a halt with no explanation given.
But, whom do we ask? And I ask, is this Ghana? Are we not citizens enough than spectators? Dead Goat or live Dog?
Your Excellency, I want to categorically state that your government has not done much for us for the 19 months in office to win our trust. And I ask again is this Ghana? Is this the change we voted for? Though I applaud you for the introduction of free education, should we allow accidents, delays in accessing healthcare delivery due to bad roads finish our generation?
And I ask, who is going to enjoy the free education in the future? What happens to the over 90 per cent of citizens along the Eastern Corridor road who suffer permanent disabilities, broken down vehicles, post-harvest losses as a result of the road?
Mr. President, please fix our road. That is all we are asking for. We have not benefitted much from your government. We feel abandoned. We need a Volta-loving-government, not as the previous governments.
Do our own Members of Parliaments, chiefs, and government appointees care about the plight of the people they represent? I do not want to believe they are dining with governments for their selfish interest. My people, be up and doing, we want to feel your care.
Mr. President, allow me to admit that the former government did its part (not enough though) and awarded the road to constructors, had a portion fixed from Asikuma to Peki, Nyangbo to Logba. I can also say that about 10-20 per cent of portions of the road had been fixed and then, the contractors stopped work after the elections till date.
I thought governance is a continuous process. I was heartbroken when the Road Minister, Mr. Kwesi Amoako Atta addressed the chiefs of Volta at Hohoe during the President’s 3-day tour of the region that COCOBOD which was funding the portion of the road from Have through Hohoe to Jasikan had suspended payment and that Dodi Papase-Nkwanta stretch being funded by EU loan of over 320 million euros, suffered delayed payments, thus, causing construction works to stall.
He however, assured the chiefs that government was working hard to make it motorable adding, that the contractors would return to site within two weeks but over a month now, nothing has been seen, heard or felt.
Fix our road. Eastern corridor road is all we have.
Mr. President, we have been silent for long, I am appealing to you to declare the road as a state of emergency to be fixed. When nothing is done, we shall embark on a peaceful protest to have our road fixed.
By: Obiri Kwaku Rowland
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