Residents of Larteh Akuapem in the Akuapem North Municipality are threatening to boycott the 2024 general elections if the deplorable roads in the area are not fixed by government.
Blaming the Member of Parliament (MP) for the area and successive governments for their inability to fix their poor roads, they said economic activities have come to a halt due to the deteriorating state of roads at Larteh.
A cross-section of residents and drivers in Larteh who have been sharing their frustrations say they will be forced to hit the streets if their demands for good roads are not met.
A resident, Kwaku Lartey said “It is terrible, you can see a lot of gullies and big potholes on the road. They are almost like lakes and it is serious. You tend to have cars getting spoilt on the road.
“I don’t think it is a road that you can be happy about as a municipality or even as a place like Larteh. Larteh is a well-known place but the road that leads to the place is terrible, and it is hindering tourists and other people from coming to see how beautiful the town is.”
It was for that reason he said the roads must be fixed as a matter of urgency to improve development in the town.
Another resident, Patrick Kwaku Mantey said that “I am very worried, it has been very problematic for the past 10 years. If you look at the road there are patches, but immediately it rains everything gets spoilt again.”
“We have constantly spoken about the roads and there has even been a situation where chiefs and community members holding the MP to a ransom but to no avail.”
He thus pleaded with the government to release funds for the contractor to begin works on the road saying “If not, we will not vote come 2024.”
Meanwhile, the Chief of Larteh addressing the Minister of Interior and the high-powered service commanders during the inauguration of the Larteh Fire Station appealed to the government to prioritize the construction of the Mamfe to Ayikuma road.
“Our roads are in very bad shape, so please support the regional minister to ensure that our roads are reconstructed. The next thing that we expect to see at Larteh is the commissioning of roads,” he added.
Responding to the chief’s request the Eastern Regional Minister, Seth Kwame Acheampong gave an assurance that a contractor will come to the road by the end of this year as the coordinating council is still lobbying at the Ministry of Highways.
“We have been working with the Ghana Highway Authority to assess it for us. So we got the Ghana Highway regional director to come over and assess it and so far we are at the ministry getting pushing to get the contractor to take it over.
“So I believe that by the end of the year, we should have a contractor come on the road,” he stated.
