The people of the Upper Manya Krobo District in the Eastern Region, have petitioned the President John Dramani Mahama, to provide them with social amenities in order to make their lives more comfortable.
The petition, titled “Who speaks for us,” was signed by the chiefs in the various communities that took part in a two-hour demonstration in the adjoining towns and villages including Osonson, Osonson–Korlenya, Breponso, Sutapong and Tenguanya among others.
The petition, which was read at a news conference by one Albert Binyumu, mentioned the poor road network, lack of drinking water and poor educational infrastructure leading to poor examination results as some of their problems.
The petition also paid tribute to former President Jerry John Rawlings for providing the only tarred road from Nkurakan near Koforidua to Asesewa, the district capital.
“We again thank him [ Mr. Rawlings] for providing some of the communities in Upper Manya Krobo with electricity,” it added.
It stated that a number of projects including roads, hospitals, electricity, schools, and pipe-borne water, had been provided to a lot of communities in the region except the Upper Manya Krobo District, and added that “our district has been neglected by the government”.
The most painful situation to the people, according to the petition, is that pipe-borne water, which was sourced from Fantem, a village in the district, and distributed through Koforidua, Kukurantumi, Tafo, Kyebi and all the way to Kumasi, was denied the people of Fantem.
“As we speak now, the people cannot even drink from the same Volta Lake where water is tapped from. In fact, the district has no good drinking water till date,” Mr Binyumu–Teye stressed.
The petition pointed out that due to the poor nature of the road network in the district, the Asesewa Market which used to be one of the leading markets in Ghana was gradually dying.
All attempts to get the Upper Manya Krobo District Chief Executive, Joseph Tetteh Angmor, to comment on the issue proved futile as he could not be reached.
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By: Graphic Online/Ghana