E/R: Another demo hits Prez. Mahama

• Posted on December 19, 2014
• by Nana Kwesi Coomson
• Comment

Over 700 residents of Asamankese in the Eastern Region, under the aegis of a pressure group called Mass Action For Development (MAFOD), on Thursday hit the principal streets of the town to express their grievances over the poor nature of the road networks in the region.

According to them, several attempts by their traditional authorities to get the appropriate authorities to fix the deplorable roads had fallen on deaf ears.

The angry demonstrators were clad in red apparels, with red bands on their heads and wrists and held placards, some of which read, ”Eastern Region deserves better,” “President Mahama fix our roads,” “Please leave Ghana for Us,” “Woyome’s money can fix the roads” and “Yentie Obiaa Aban.”

A number of the residents and travelers who spoke to DAILY GUIDE expressed numerous challenges the bad road network had posed to them.

Some of them averred that some pregnant women had had miscarriages because of the bumpy nature of the roads.

MAFOD Leader’s Reactions
The convener of the Mass Action For Development, Kingsly Fosu Ntiamoah, addressing the media at the Asamankese main lorry park, said that the group was not demanding anything extraordinary from the government but rehabilitation of the poor road networks in the Eastern Region in general.

He stated that the National Democratic Congress (NDC) government of President John Dramani Mahama was not concerned about the welfare of the people in the region in terms of development.

Mr. Ntiamoah posited that the major cocoa roads linking areas like Suhum- Asamankese, Kitase-Brekuso, Aburi-Adammorabe, Aburi-Nsawam-Suhum, Nkwakwa-Abirim, Akyem Oda-Kade, parts of Koforidua and the Afram Plains are almost not motorable, but the NDC government had refused to put them in good shapes, in spite of the numerous appeals the Eastern Regional House of Chiefs led by the Okyenhene, Osagyefo Amoatia Ofori Panin, had made.

MCE Declines Petition
The Lower West Akim Municipal Chief Executive (MCE), George Akpalu, refused to come out of his office to receive the petition that was to be presented by the organizers of the mass protest.

Kingsly Fosu, who was accompanied by the former MCE, Stephen Ntim, the Member of Parliament (MP) Gifty Klenam, stormed the offices of the MCE with intent to present the petition to him for onward transmission to President Mahama, but the MCE refused to attend to the organisers of the demonstration.

They later presented it to the Municipal Town Planning Officer, who received it on behalf of the Municipal Chief Executive.

Adomako Baafi
Adomako Baafi, a firebrand of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) expressed worry about how arrogantly the MCE behaved, and called on President Mahama to talk to his appointees to show respect to Ghanaians.

He disclosed that research had indicated that the Eastern Region recorded the most death cases, due to the bad road networks and charged the residents to vote against the NDC government in 2016.

Lower West Akim MP
The Member of Parliament of Lower West Akim Constituency, Gifty Klenam, who later joined the demonstration, expressed disappointment in the government for failing to repair the roads in the region.

FROM Daniel Bampoe, Asamankese