Bad roads aggravating poverty in the north

Farmers living along the Eastern corridors (Yendi-Zabzugu, Yendi-Saboba, Yendi-Bimbila) of the Northern Region have appealed to the government to urgently rehabilitate the deplorable roads in the area.

According to the farmers, the bad roads are aggravating the poverty situation in the area and making it difficult for them to cart their farm produce to the market centres.

Mallam Fuseini Issah, spokesperson for the farmers in an interview with the Times at Zabzugu, last Saturday, said that "due to the bad nature of the roads, metro buses have suspended their services to our area".

He said a number of people had lost their lives through motor accidents due to the bad nature of the roads.

Mallam Fuseini said that pregnant women and the sick were fleeing the area to Tamale and Yendi for fear of losing their lives since it was difficult to transport them to the nearest hospital for medical attention.

He wondered whether they were part of Ghana, saying, "We are totally cut off from the rest of the country."

Mallam Fuseini stated that the Zabzugu-Yendi vehicles which normally transport commuters for an hour, are spending between four and five hours on the bad roads.

Ayishetu Mahama, a market woman, also said that market women were paying high fares in transporting their goods to Tamale to sell and urged the government to address the problem by fulfilling its promise of repairing the Eastern corridor roads.

Madam Ayishetu said that "if nothing is done to the roads we would be compelled to send our goods to Togo to sell since they have good roads".

Earlier last week, Deputy Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Mr. Elvis Afriyie-Ankrah, who toured the area, assured the people that the government was working hard to put the roads in proper shape.

He, therefore, appealed to the people to bear with the government as it would not relent on its efforts to address their concerns.