Tarkwa residents demonstrate over bad roads

The Gyaasehene of Apinto addressing journalists

Members of the Tarkwa Apinto Divisional Council and some residents of the area, yesterday morning blocked the main road linking Tarkwa and Takoradi to protest against the deteriorating nature of the highway and other roads within the municipality.

As early as 6:00a.m, the demonstrators assembled at the AngloGold Iduapriem Mine junction, on the highway and blocked the road, thus creating a traffic jam.

Clad in red and black bands on their heads and hands, the chiefs and the youth  sang and danced, burnt tyres and blocked the road with wood to  register their displeasure over the state of roads in the area.

For about two hours, the standoff on the Tarkwa–Takoradi highway created a heavy traffic with plume of smoke visible several kilometers away.

 

The Ghanaian Times gathered that the Tarkwa highway constructed  about 20 years ago, had over the period deteriorated, particularly the Ahwetieso–Iduapriem portion, which has developed craters, and each time there was heavy rainfall, the area becomes unmotorable, causing inconvenience to road users and residents.

 

The bad nature of the highway has also increased travelling time from the Sefwi enclave in the northern part of the Western Region to the oil city of Sekondi -Takoradi.

Efforts by Asabea Construction Works to salvage the road at the Ahwetieso portion with culverts had not yielded the optimum benefits as the swampy area is always flooded due to heavy Tarkwa rainfall pattern.

“The present state of the road network is an eyesore and do not befit Tarkwa municipality which is a mining town.” a demonstrator said.

He noted that the Tarkwa-Takoradi highway had been ‘trapped’ in political games as it had become a campaign tool.

 

“Now and then we get promises from our political leadership, but, after election we continue to see the road deteriorating. We need better leadership to address our concerns. This should not be our situation. It is worrying. Indeed, this road is a headache.” the youngster told the Ghanaian Times.

 

The Gyaasehene of the Apinto Division, Nana Dr Adarkwa Bediako II, in an interview with journalists, said the chiefs and other stakeholders from Dompim and surrounding areas have given a two-week ultimatum to the government to fix the road else the demonstration would be repeated.

 

Nana Bediako revealed that the demonstration, organised by the Apinto Division with the support of Wassa Fiase chiefs and road users aimed at showcasing the deteriorating nature of the Tarkwa -Takoradi highways and the need to fix it.

 

He recalled last Monday’s accident at Dompim which claimed the lives of eight pupils from Learners Bridge Academy and said it was a wake-up call for the road to be fixed, stressing “this situation must end.”

 

According to the Apinto Gyaasehene, loads of bauxite and manganese are hauled on the highway daily and added that heavy mining trucks plying the road have become a danger to residents and other road users.

FROM CLEMENT ADZEI BOYE, TAKORADI

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