My Community! My Health III

The state of the road leading to the Pantang hospital is really heart wrecking. It is indeed frustrating to keep writing about this particular 5.3km stretch of road, on the 6^th of January 2020 my first article on the Pantang hospital road was published.

I wrote about the very bad state of the road network and the significance of the Pantang Psychiatric Hospital to the country, its strategic location and services to the West Africa sub-region, given the important role mental health and its neglect within the sub-region.

Aside the numerous challenges faced by the hospital hindering the healthcare providers from delivering services to patients, a bad road network should not be one of the factors hampering quality service delivery. Nevertheless, this has been a challenge until the latter part of January 2020 when about 3.5km of the 5.36km stretch began to see a facelift.

On the 7^th of March 2020, I wrote another piece as a very short response to the first article. I wrote on the deplorable state of the Pantang Hospital road which was titled “My Community! My Health”. In my second article which I wrote three weeks after the 3.5km stretch of 5.36km road network had been completed, I clearly stated that “There are little indications that the constructed 3.5km road may see a second coating, it is however sad to point out that a road constructed three weeks ago had developed little patches of potholes along the stretch” of the road.

Thankfully, the authorities listened not only to the cry from the community dwellers channeled through my articles but from folks who daily use the road or perhaps patients who seek for clinical healthcare. On a stronger breath, I feel there should be consented efforts to protect the public purse, of course I would not pretend to be or have perused the contract and its ramifications.

Travelling on the 3.5km out of 5.36km stretch of road six months later, I stepped out from the vehicle and decided to take a 500meter walk along the stretch. The image associated with this article is the composed images taken at different points within 500meter stretch. Simple questions I keep asking,

1. Why would a road be constructed and develop potholes after 3weeks?

2. Why should there be potholes across various sections of the road, 6months after the second coating?

Sad as it may sound, like you I asked myself these simple questions regarding potholes all over. Indeed, the only way I can seek answers to my thoughts is to calmly pour out my frustrations and reservations into my third article on the same road.