The Presiding Member of the Ellembelle District Assembly, David Enu, says all that the people of Ellembelle want is to see their deplorable roads fixed.
He has therefore called on the leadership of the Ellembelle District Assembly to welcome any support that will ensure the fixing of the numerous deplorable roads in the district.
The Presiding Member was speaking to Citi News after witnessing the DCE of Ellembelle, Kwasi Bonzoh, allegedly attempting to stop the Ellembelle MP, Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, from facilitating the reshaping of the abandoned Edwakpole-Ewiebo-Basake-Anyinase road.
Prior to 2016, roads in the Ellembelle District, including Esiama to Nkroful and its enclave, were given to a construction firm, but the work was halted in 2017 for a general audit of the construction.
After several years of suspension of work, the road was repacked together with the Asasetre-Ewiebo-Edwakpole-Basake-Ainyinase road of over 200 kilometres.
Currently, the less than 8-kilometer Esiama to Nkroful road that was re-awarded is not even completed, while the remaining Asasetre-Ewiebo-Edwakpole-Basake-Ainyinase road was largely unmotorable for both motorists and passengers until the MP’s intervention last week.
As a result, motorbikes have become the most reliable transport despite the risk involved.
Passengers and motorists who earlier spoke to Citi News shared their sufferings on the roads under contract.
A motorist said: “The state of the road is a worry to even those of us riding motorbikes, and it is very difficult for taxi drivers. So the government has to fix the road for us. A lot of people here live in the villages, so it is motorbikes that are able to pick sick persons to the hospital, but the road is a nuisance to us. Spare parts cost has increased for us due to the poor road.”
A trader said: “The deplorable state of the road makes it difficult to transport our cassava from the farm to Bokozo where we stay. I even had to use motorbikes this morning when I was coming, and if we don’t hurry up, we wouldn’t even get a vehicle back. So we are in difficulty on this road to even transport our produce, but they keep promising to fix the road.”
The about 3-kilometer Edwakpole-Ewiebo-Basake-Ainyinase portion of the road, which is part of the project awarded in 2020, has also been in a deplorable condition, causing immense inconvenience to residents.
Deputy Minority Leader, Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, disclosed that he had been approached by opinion leaders from Ewiebo, a town along the road, seeking his assistance in reshaping the road ahead of the upcoming Kundum Festival.
After lobbying the contractor to come back to the site for the necessary improvements, Kwasi Bonzoh, the DCE, reportedly intervened, demanding that the work be halted, causing this trending video.
In response, the Ellembelle DCE, Kwasi Bonzoh, in a press conference, stated that the road was already under construction, and the contractor could not be influenced by the MP to expedite the project.