The Member of Parliament for Sawla-Tuna-Kalba constituency, Andrew Dari Chiwitey is calling on the government to urgently fix the Tuna Kalba road before it cuts off.
Contractors on the 20-kilometre Tuna Kalba road have abandoned the road since 2017 and a recent downpour has rendered it unmotorable.
Speaking to journalists after touring the road, Mr. Chiwitey said the government must take urgent steps to fix the road before the next rain completely washes it off.
“This road is a very important road not only to the people here, but it’s also a road that bridges Ghana and Burkina and Ivory Coast. So it’s an international road that helps the people from Tuna to Kalba and beyond. Farmers along this area cart their produce to markets in Tuna and Sawla every week, but due to the nature of the road it is becoming impossible for all these to happen.”
“The road is not for the people of Kalba, it’s for the nation, so it must be fixed. So please Hon. Amoaku Atta, wake up, you said we are sleeping, but we are telling you to wake up and help us fix our road. Things are bad, look at the nature of the place (road), the least rain and we will have it dividing into two,” Mr. Chiwitey lamented.
The 20-kilometre Tuna Kalba Road is one of the major roads in the Sawla-Tuna-Kalba District of the Savannah Region.
The road does not only lead to the second-biggest market in the district but also serves as the only route of several communities to Sawla the district capital.
It also links the district to Ivory Coast, Burkina and Wechau in the Upper West Region.
But the road has never seen any major construction in as many years, as even the oldest person in the area can remember.
In 2016, it was awarded to Messrs Logistics Support Services Ltd under the road fund.
But nothing has been seen of the contractor since 2017 leaving the road to deteriorate over the period.
A recent downpour has worsened the bad nature of the road.
When the Member of Parliament for the area, Andrew Dari Chiwitey took the media to inspect it, it was observed that some parts of the road may be cut off with another heavy rainfall.
The chief of Kalba, Amaliya Saaka also added his voice to the appeal.
“Government gets revenue from the Kalba market and in fact the way the road is, if the government does not come to our aid we are really suffering.”
He opined that “we will be cut off any moment from today if it rains heavily. It was awarded in the NDC regime but after the change of government, they abandoned us. We are also Ghanaians, we are Ghanaians, Kalba is not La Côte d’Ivoire, Kalba is not Burkina, we are also Ghanaians so Mr. President please come to our aid.”
