Statement By Movement For Obuasi Development On The State Of Obuasi Roads

Obuasi is undoubtedly an economic powerhouse in Ghana because of her enormous gold wealth, and how the exploitation of this mineral has powered the country’s economy through the centuries. To make this happen the people of Obuasi have sacrificed a lot, enduring very harsh economic, social and environmental conditions. This sacrifice would not have mattered, if the people had access to some of the most basic social amenities to make life a bit comfortable for them.

We have however observed with great sadness, and disappointment the total neglect of Obuasi by successive governments. Upon all the mineral wealth that leaves this ancient city, we shudder to understand why the people of Obuasi will still have to shout themselves hoarse before their most basic needs are met by the powers that be. The state of development in Obuasi does not befit the status of the tag “Golden City”. At least, not with the current nature of roads that lead to the Obuasi Township and those within the town.

The Obuasi - Anwia Nkwanta road serves an important social, economic and political purpose. At the moment the nature of the road is so horrendous that it has made Obuasi a laughing stock in the country. Anybody who plies that road goes through a lot of anguish, and in the process “curse” leaders who should have fixed it but did not. There have been instances where pregnant women have lost their pregnancies as they used the road. Corporate bodies in Obuasi have collectively decided not to use this road to and from Kumasi, even though it is the shortest route. These days they prefer using the Fomena – Bekwai stretch of road. Cost of production of goods and services in Obuasi has shot up significantly due to the road. We do not think the people of Obuasi deserve this kind of treatment.

The Obuasi Municipal Chief Executive, Hon. Elijah Adansi Bonah has in a recent interview with local radio stations revealed that both the Obuasi - Anwia Nkwanta and Obuasi town roads have been awarded on contract. He disclosed that the Obuasi – Anwia Nkwanta road has been given on contract to Joshob Construction while 20 kilometres of Obuasi town roads have been awarded to Gwakunda Engineering Limited. Ordinarily this news should have gladdened our hearts. But we are being cautiously optimistic because of past promises which never saw the light of day.

It will be recalled that prior to the 2016 elections the then Ashanti Regional Minister, who also happened to be a former Municipal Chief Executive of Obuasi, and a very proud son of the land, Hon. John Alexander Ackon, promised on several occasions and at several fora that the Obuasi – Anwia Nkwanta road would be fixed before the end of the year (2016). We remember vividly when he addressed the Obuasi Municipal Assembly at one of its sittings in the latter part of 2016 and making a pledge before the people’s representatives that the road had been awarded on contract, and that the contractor would be on site “very soon”. Unfortunately, that “very soon” never materialized.

We acknowledge that the Obuasi – Anwia Nkwanta Road was captured in the 2018 budget statement of the government. According to the Budget Statement, this road is one among many across the country which will be rehabilitated within 3 years. Since the budget was presented well meaning residents of Obuasi all over the world have turned the heat on the relevant authorities to have the road fixed. This campaign has intensified over the past few weeks simply because the rainy season has only exposed how terrible our roads are.

We are saddened that in response to our campaign to get the roads in Obuasi fixed, some political party activists have tended to draw us into a very dirty partisan political game. We wish to however assure all well meaning people in Obuasi and beyond that we cannot be intimidated by these political machinations. Our campaign is devoid of any personal animosity towards either the Municipal Chief Executive, Hon. Elijah Adansi Bonah or the Member of Parliament of Obuasi West, Hon. Kwaku Kwarteng. Neither is our campaign geared towards making the ruling party unpopular. Far from it. Our primary objective for embarking on this campaign is to demand from the people’s representatives action to get the roads fixed. We will resist any attempt by any group of people to use parochial partisan interests to divide our ranks and divert attention from our core responsibility to the people of Obuasi.

Demands
From the above we make the following demands:

1. A full publication of the details of the contract signed with the two contractors working on the Anwia Nkwanta road and Obuasi town roads by 9th July, 2018.
2. That the Assembly publishes a road map for the rehabilitation of the Obuasi town roads. While acknowledging that road construction is capital intensive and the assembly may not readily have sufficient funds to undertake all road projects at a go, it will be helpful for the assembly to at least commit to tackling the project bit by bit.

Signed:
Charles Wundengba
(Convenor)