Over two thousand residents of Wuru and three other adjoining communities in the Sissala East municipality of the Upper West Region have been cut off due to the collapse of a bridge that connects them to the rest of the country.
The residents of Wuru and the three other communities which include Kapun, Tanla and Kunsola are now compelled to ply their businesses in Burkina Faso because they are unable to get vehicles to carry their goods and services to Ghanaian markets.
The forty-five-kilometre Wuru-Kunchogu road is the only route that links commuters in the north-eastern part of the municipality to the Sissala East capital, Tumu but has not seen rehabilitation since its construction in the Second Republic.
The Assemblyman of the Kapun electoral area, Robert Assmenu Atta, speaking to Citi News said the collapsed bridge is having a heavy toll on the socio-economic development of the area.
“Pregnant and nursing mothers cannot cross this bridge to Kunchogu anytime we have a referral case. Teachers cannot cross to teach our children and farmers cannot cart their farm produce to market centres. In fact, we really need help,” he cried.
The Assemblyman appealed to government to urgently construct the bridge to alleviate their plight.
The Chief of Wuru, Mahama Deweri Batachia IV, lamented that farmers in the area are now compelled to sell their produce at cut-throat prices in neighbouring Burkina Faso due to the collapsed bridge.
“We are farmers. Some people harvest more than two hundred bags of maize in this village but because of the road we send them to Burkina [Faso] and they buy them anyhow. Even when we bring the money, it is difficult to get the right Cedi equivalent here. But because of the road we cannot go to Ghana to change too,” he said.
According to the chief, the school in the community is usually closed between June and December because teachers cannot cross the broken bridge to teach in the community.
The District Chief Executive for Sissala East, Karim Nanyua, explained that several attempts to get the bridge constructed have been unsuccessful.
He, however, said his office is still liaising with the relevant agencies to get it fixed.
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