Inhabitants in the Sissala enclave have appealed to people in leadership positions from the area, to make development their prime concern to bridge the development gap in the Upper West (UW) Region.
They said the entire area had been ignored, largely neglected and forgotten not because the area detested development, but because its leaders had not made any conscious effort to chart the path of development.
“It is not late for the people occupying leadership positions to make amends by having sober reflection on how to help bring the needed development to the people which include poor road infrastructure as the bane of the area’s progress, growth and development which must be reversed,” the inhabitants noted.
Some of them threatened to either bar politicians from campaigning in the area or abstain from voting since they never benefited enough from the national cake.
Yussif Napuna, the President of the Sissala Youth Forum, indicated that the Sissala enclave was a food producing area, which could feed the entire nation but due to neglect, it lagged in many things.
He bemoaned the failure of their leaders who occupy key positions but they either lack lobbying skills or they were not bothered about the predicament of the area however, the forum had been spearheading the development agenda of the area but they seemed not to be listening to help address their predicaments.
Hajia Asana Senjeh, a market queen, alleged that they felt cheated because the government had refused to rehabilitate and construct roads in the area to propel development which was collapsing businesses since it was no longer profitable to engage in.
Amidu Issahaku, the Member of Parliament (MP) for Sissala East Constituency in the Upper West Region, intimated that the government was committed and determined to developing and improving the road network in the area and assured the Tumu-Navrongo stretch of the road would be tarred very soon.
Jonas Batong, a resident of Welembelle in the Sissala East Municipality, decried the lack of unity among chiefs and other opinion leaders, who over the years embarked on divisive missions that continued to derail the development of the area.
Kuoro Buktie Limann IV, the Paramount Chief of the Gwollu Traditional Area, said the people were shortchanged in development, especially road infrastructure.
