Concerned Nananom, the Shama-branch of the Ghana Private Road Transport Union and residents of Shama in the Shama District of the Western region, have demonstrated and petitioned the office of their District Chief Executive (DCE), over the deplorable state of their road network.
Clad in red and wielding placards, the residents blocked the main road connecting the town to the Cape Coast-Takoradi highway, leaving several students and workers who ply that road stranded.
Speaking to the media, one of the leaders of the demonstration, Nana Brekrom ll, outlined some of the major infrastructural challenges bedeviling the Shama district.
“In the district, roads are the major means of transport for humans, animals, goods and services. The road is not repairable it has become a recipe for problems and accidents. Not long ago, a student collided with a car whiles riding his bicycle to school.”
“Fellow Ghanaians, I don’t want to describe it. The poor state of the road has made it difficult for vehicles to use, causing a great inconvenience for women in labor, the ambulance service and fire service personnel”, he added.
The petition was received by the Deputy Director for the Assembly, Benedict Anumel. He said, “we have received this petition in good faith. We plead and appeal that we remain calm and make sure that the petition will reach the appropriate quarters to heed to your call and concerns.”
Acting Queen mother of the Shama Traditional Council Nana Akosua Gyamfiaba II, indicated that all their pleas for authorities to come to their aid have yielded no positive result. According to her, they had a discussion with the Minister of Roads and Highways, Kwasi Amoako-Atta, about the way forward, but nothing positive came out of it.
She revealed that the Minister told them there is nothing they can do if, the roads are not fixed.
“The Roads Minister called and told us that if we demonstrate and the roads are not done, there is nothing we can do. We have informed the Western Region Minister, DCE, and all others about our problems but, nobody is taking any action so we have decided to register our anger through demonstration. Nothing is happening in Shama under this government,” she indicated.
The Shama District Chairman of GPRTU, John Amoh, stressed that his drivers have been suffering on all the roads in the district, adding that they will continue to demonstrate until their grievances are met.
“All our roads are very bad. The government has been deceiving us to the extent that there is no single town in Shama with proper asphalt road.”
“We are all Ghanaians but it appears this government has abandoned us. They promised to construct a district hospital for us, the President came to cut sod for the project but as I speak, not even a block has been laid. We will continue to demonstrate until our grievances are heard,” he indicated.
Read their petition below:
Story by: Priscilla Ohenewaa
