A LOOK AT ROAD INFRASTRUCTURE IN THE EAST MAMPRUSI DISTRICT JUNE30, 2008
FEATURE BY _ PETER ATOGEWE WEDAM, ISD GAMBAGA
Roads many will agree are an integral part of the development process of communities and districts. Roads to a large extent, help in poverty alleviation among the populace especially in rural Ghana. But this cannot be said of the Walewale-Gambaga road in the Northern region.
A number of people in the East Mamaprusi District, EMD of this region notwithstanding have lauded government for its efforts at linking the district to the rest of Ghana via road network.
Nevertheless, others in the district including other nonresident users of the road linking the West Mamprusi district and the EMD have expressed various concerns about the deteriorating state of the road in question.
The road which is about 48 Kilometres is no doubt a busy commercial route connecting some districts of the Northern Region to the Upper East Region and the Republic of Togo through Nakpanduri in the Bunkprugu-Yunyoo district.
Indeed, not a minute passes without vehicles mostly commercial ones plying the road. But the question that rings in the minds of many concerned citizens is how quick business transactions and official trips can be made using an untarred and uneven surfaced road such as the one linking Walewale and Gambaga.
Stretching from Walewale in the West Mamprusi district, only about four kilometres of the entire road have been tarred. This therefore makes travelling between the two districts time consuming. It takes about two hours to make the journey, a journey many agree could be done in an hour if the whole road were tarred.
A popularly quoted saying has it that, it is better late than never. Going by this, it will take only a couple of months and the many worries and complains about the bad nature of the Walewale-Gambaga road will be forgotten of for good. The reason is that government has awarded the road to Messrs AN Ghanem, an experienced road contractor for the necessary works to be done on it.
The works currently being undertaken by A&N Ghanem Ltd. include construction of new culverts and expansion of the old ones.Also U-drains are being built and all these works will be concluded with tarring.
Improvement in Road Network within the East Mamprusi District
It is worth noting that there has been massive improvement in road infrastructure within the East Mamprusi district over the past seven years or so. This brought relief to many road users in the area.
For instance farmers and market women are now able to cart their produce and commodities respectively to market centres without any stress.
Among the many roads that were either constructed or given a face lift include the 4.50KM Zandua-Dazzio road, Jawani-Tuni road of 11KM, Kasape-Saamini road 9.12KMs and the Langbensi-Tangbeni road of 2.40KMs.
Works done on the roads which were all awarded in 2007 included resurfacing, grading, gravelling and construction of culverts. The Transport Sector Programme Support, TSPS and the Danish International Development Agency, DANIDA provided funding for the works.
Indeed, the inhabitants of the East Mamprusi district must be grateful to government and her development partners for the provision of these roads. This is because the improvement in the road network has brought about quick and smooth access to health facilities among other benefits.
Roads many will agree are an integral part of the development process of communities and districts. Roads to a large extent, help in poverty alleviation among the populace especially in rural Ghana. But this cannot be said of the Walewale-Gambaga road in the Northern region.
A number of people in the East Mamaprusi District, EMD of this region notwithstanding have lauded government for its efforts at linking the district to the rest of Ghana via road network.
Nevertheless, others in the district including other nonresident users of the road linking the West Mamprusi district and the EMD have expressed various concerns about the deteriorating state of the road in question.
The road which is about 48 Kilometres is no doubt a busy commercial route connecting some districts of the Northern Region to the Upper East Region and the Republic of Togo through Nakpanduri in the Bunkprugu-Yunyoo district.
Indeed, not a minute passes without vehicles mostly commercial ones plying the road. But the question that rings in the minds of many concerned citizens is how quick business transactions and official trips can be made using an untarred and uneven surfaced road such as the one linking Walewale and Gambaga.
Stretching from Walewale in the West Mamprusi district, only about four kilometres of the entire road have been tarred. This therefore makes travelling between the two districts time consuming. It takes about two hours to make the journey, a journey many agree could be done in an hour if the whole road were tarred.
A popularly quoted saying has it that, it is better late than never. Going by this, it will take only a couple of months and the many worries and complains about the bad nature of the Walewale-Gambaga road will be forgotten of for good. The reason is that government has awarded the road to Messrs AN Ghanem, an experienced road contractor for the necessary works to be done on it.
The works currently being undertaken by A&N Ghanem Ltd. include construction of new culverts and expansion of the old ones.Also U-drains are being built and all these works will be concluded with tarring.
Improvement in Road Network within the East Mamprusi District
It is worth noting that there has been massive improvement in road infrastructure within the East Mamprusi district over the past seven years or so. This brought relief to many road users in the area.
For instance farmers and market women are now able to cart their produce and commodities respectively to market centres without any stress.
Among the many roads that were either constructed or given a face lift include the 4.50KM Zandua-Dazzio road, Jawani-Tuni road of 11KM, Kasape-Saamini road 9.12KMs and the Langbensi-Tangbeni road of 2.40KMs.
Works done on the roads which were all awarded in 2007 included resurfacing, grading, gravelling and construction of culverts. The Transport Sector Programme Support, TSPS and the Danish International Development Agency, DANIDA provided funding for the works.
Indeed, the inhabitants of the East Mamprusi district must be grateful to government and her development partners for the provision of these roads. This is because the improvement in the road network has brought about quick and smooth access to health facilities among other benefits.
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