The abandoned Kunchogu-Kaweru bridge project near Kwapung in the Sissala East Municipality has cut off several communities from accessing essential services in other parts of the municipality.
The affected communities, including Kwapung and Wuru, both located near the Burkina Faso border, had been unable to access referral health facilities and markets at Kunchogu and Tumu, particularly during the peak of the rainy season.
Speaking to the Ghana News Agency (GNA) at Kwapung, Mr Suleyman Diwore, the Assembly Member for the Kwapung Electoral Area, said the stalled bridge project had severely affected the livelihoods of residents in the area.
He explained that the bridge construction began about six years ago but had since been abandoned, leaving the lives of residents in jeopardy.
Mr Diwore indicated that pregnant women in Kwapung relied on the Kunchogu Health Centre for delivery services, but during the rainy season, they were unable to reach the facility whenever the river was full.
“The women have been advised by the midwives at the Kunchogu Health Centre not to deliver at home, but there is no health facility in the community. The nearest one is at the Kunchogu.
So, when a woman is in labour, she has to go and deliver at the Kunchogu Health Centre, but when the river is full on that particular day, they have to send her back to manage the local way of delivery,” Mr Diwore explained.
The Assembly Member added that people with health emergencies, such as snakebites, were also left to their fate when they were unable to cross the river to reach health facilities.
On the economic impact, he lamented that they could not transport farm inputs to the community or cart their farm produce to the markets within Ghana.
“Even if we have good market prices at Tumu or other areas like Upper East, we cannot transport the goods there, so we are forced to transport them to Burkina Faso.
But, you know, trading in a foreign country is different from trading in your own country because of the charges and other intimidations,” Mr Diwore said.
The Assembly member said he had raised concerns about the project at Assembly meetings, and the Sissala East Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) had assured him of completing the project.
Pio Emmanuel Ali Kwabalugu, the Chief of the Kwapung, lamented that the construction of an irrigation facility in the community had been delayed due to the inability of the borehole drilling machine to access the community in the rainy season.
The people, therefore, appealed to the government to complete the project to reduce their plight in accessing essential services, including markets and health facilities, and enhance their livelihoods.
Meanwhile, Mr Adamu Yakubu, the Sissala East MCE, told the GNA in an interview that plans were advanced to complete the project as soon as possible.
He also stated that the Assembly had planned to construct a health facility in the Kwapung community to ensure easy and timely access to healthcare services.
GNA
