Residents of Afumkrom and neighbouring villages in the Nsawam-Adoagyiri Municipality of the Eastern Region have appealed to the government to tar the roads linking their villages.
According to them, the dusty nature of the road had contributed to a lot of health issues, especially acute respiratory problems, adding that armed robbers had began taking advantage of the total darkness in the area to terrorise motorists and pedestrians.
This had compelled some drivers to avoid using the road after 6:00 p.m. to save themselves from attacks.
The residents disclosed this to the Ghanaian Times during a visit to the village yesterday.
The situation, they said had caused commercial drivers to charge ridiculous fares which in the end affected the pricing of food products grown in the area.
Commercial motorcycle popularly known as ‘okada’ riders, are also not left out in the charging of exorbitant fares for short distances as they make brisk business on the road.
The road is the main link between the food production areas of the Greater Accra Region and other parts of the country but the communities along the stretch have not seen any major development.
The residents complained that the current insecurity in the area was affecting development, hence the need for the local authorities to come to their aid by way of providing them a police station to curb the spate of armed robbery in the community.
Afumkrom and its neighbouring villages are known for the production of foodstuff, but the towns are virtually cut off from the rest of the country due to the deplorable nature of their roads.
A commercial driver, Yaw Nyamekye who plies the roads complained that he often spent his meagre earnings on spare parts due to constant break downs of their vehicles.
Meanwhile, the residents are also asking the government to compel quarry companies operating in the area to construct the roads as their heavy trucks were contributing to a further deterioration of the road.
“It’s about time our leaders took firm decisions on how these foreign nationals often tend to cheat indigenes in communities they operate in. I have lived here all my life and I haven’t seen any of these people support these communities,” a resident Mr Samuel Gyan fumed.
A journey that should have taken 15 minutes takes almost half an hour.
The assembly member of the area, Augustine Yiborku in an interview said several attempts by his office to gain support from concerned authorities had proven futile.
He mentioned that his outfit, together with members of the community would soon embark on a demonstration to register their grievances.
FROM ALLIA NOSHIE, AFUMKROM
