The poor state of roads in the Wa East District dominated the concerns of the chiefs and elders of the four paramountcies in the district during the Upper West Regional Minister’s tour of the area.
During separate meetings with the Minister, the traditional leaders indicated that the bad state of the roads was undermining economic activities, livelihoods, and timely access to secondary healthcare services in the district.
The Upper West Regional Minister, Mr Charles Lwanga Puozuing, was on an eight-day tour of the region to interact with the chiefs and the people to ascertain their priority development needs and to thank them for their support to the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the 2024 general election.
At Manwe, Naa Alhaji Abubakari Yussif Wiah, the Paramount Chief of the Manwe Traditional Area, appealed for the construction of major roads in the area, including the Busa–Manwe, Manwe–Loggu and Manwe–Danyawkura roads.
He further called for the upgrading of the Manwe Health Centre to a polyclinic, interventions to address water challenges in Manwe and extension of electricity to other communities in the area, including Danyawkura and Vieha.
Naa Seidu Nawologime IV, the President of the Bulenga Traditional Council, thanked the government for including the Wa–Bulenga road in the “Big Push Infrastructure Project” but appealed for its timely completion to support agricultural activities in the area.
“Its completion will greatly enhance the transportation of agricultural produce to the Wa Municipality and beyond”, he stated.
Naa Nawologime petitioned the President, through the Regional Minister, to consider creating a new district from the Wa East District with Bulenga as its capital to accelerate development in the area.
On his part, the Paramount Chief of the Kundugu Traditional Area, Kuoro Hadi Asimbie II, appealed to the government to rehabilitate major roads within the traditional area.
The roads include the Kundugu–Bulenga–Wa, Kundugu–Funsi–Issa, Kundugu–Kunyebing–Jumo, and Kundugu–Chawuli–Belekpong roads.
“Their current condition undermines trade, limits access to markets, and constrains the full potential of the Kundugu Market, which serves as a major foodstuff hub in this part of the region,” he said.
Mr Tahidu Issifu Widumah, in a speech read on behalf of the chiefs and elders of the Funsi Traditional Area, underscored the urgent need for the construction of the Wahabu–Funsi–Kundugu road and roads within the Funsi township.
He also appealed for the completion of the Agenda 111 Hospital Project at Funsi to strengthen healthcare delivery for the traditional area and surrounding communities.
The traditional leaders, however, commended the President John Mahama-led government for implementing initiatives such as the “Stress Free Fee” policy and the One Million Coders initiative, among others, within its first year.
In response, Mr Puozuing assured the chiefs and people that the government was committed to addressing their challenges and that roads, such as the Wa–Bulenga–Kundugu–Fumbisi road, had been included in Phase Two of the Big Push programme.
Mr Puozuing added that the District Assemblies would also deploy equipment under the District Roads Improvement Project (DRIP) to reshape and rehabilitate other critical feeder roads across the district.
