The contractor working on the Sampa-Jinijini road in the Bono region has abandoned the project and moved all equipment from the site, a few months after the 2020 elections.
This disclosure was made by the Chief of Jamera traditional area, Nana Shie-Dwo Pataz II.
According to Nana Pataz, prior to the elections, the contractor was seen constructing drains on the road but stopped work a few months after the last elections.
“We all saw the contractor on site before the elections and he was busily working on the drains. We really felt happy but a few months after the December elections, the work stopped and up till now, we have not seen anything going on”, he said.
The only visible thing on the road is the construction of drainage systems as well as signages that – “work is in progress”.
He said the road was awarded on contract in 2020 during the tenure of office of the immediate past MP for the Jaman North constituency, Siaka Stevens.
He said the bad and dusty nature of the roads, which connect to other districts and towns, has led to the loss of lives and affected the livelihood of the people.
He echoed the frustration that residents, transporters, and business operators have had to bear due to the dust on the roads, with the accompanying health implications. He, therefore, appealed to the authorities to ensure the contractor returns to complete the project.
Meanwhile, yam sellers in the Sunyani Municipality have in an interaction with Sunyani based ARK FM disclosed that the increase in food prices is due to the bad roads from surrounding communities from where farm produce are transported to marketing centers.
The yam sellers, who mostly transport the produce from Techiman to Sunyani, stated that the bad road network has made the drivers to charge high fares.
“What we know is the bad nature of the road has led to drivers charging high fares and that subsequently has affected prices of food”, the yam sellers said.
They therefore called on the government to fix the road network as they anticipate a challenging new yam season with the unfavourable rainfall pattern.
The desperate traders also noted that the increase in petrol prices is also a contributory factor to the drivers increasing their fares.
Recently, some farmers in Bawku also expressed similar worry over the poor road network which is making it difficult to access their farms and also transport farm produce for storage and market, saying it is a threat to the success of the Planting for Food and Jobs programme.
Perishable food crops such as tomatoes, pepper, cabbage, lettuce and onion are vulnerable to the weather and spoil easily.
At Kolnaba in the Pusiga District, the Kolnaba Vegetable Farmers Association said they face difficulties in transporting their vegetables to the market because there are no roads linking their farms and communities to the nearest market in the district capital.
Onion farmer groups at the Jentiga farming community in the Bawku municipality have also registered their displeasure on the road linking their community to Bawku, saying some farmers are pulling out of the onion farming business as they could not transport their produce to the market for sale.
The post Sampa-Jinijini road contractor abandons project appeared first on The Chronicle Online.
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