Prior to the 2016 elections in December, the erstwhile President John Dramani Mahama highlighted his administration’s commitment to opening up the Eastern stretch of the country to viable opportunities through the construction of the Eastern Corridor road.
The Eastern Corridor road is a National Route (N2) which stretch from the Tema Roundabout and ends at Kulungugu of the North-Eastern border with Burkina Faso.
The road provides a shorter access to the Tema Port as well as help to improve contacts between natives of the Northern, Upper East, and Volta regions.
It will also improve integration between Ghana and her neighbours’ such as Malians, and Nigerians among others.
Speaking to the chiefs and people of Kejebi in the Volta region as part of his “Accounting to the People” tour, ex-President Mahama assured Ghanaians the road would be completed on time to silence his critics and fulfil his promises made in 2012.
“Very soon the entire project would be fully completed and residents of the Northern region and the Volta region will benefit”, he said.
But in an interview with Adomonline’s Gershon Mortey, the Chairman of the Global Millennium Transport Association in Volta region, Mr Paul Osei indicated that the road had been deserted and the potholes are now manholes.
He added that, the bad state of the road demands weekly purchase of motor spare parts which is affecting the income of commercial drivers in the area.
“The state of the road is very bad. We are been forced to buy spare parts every week. We are working for the boys at Abossey Okai dealers. It is very disturbing. We use six hours instead of three hours for the journey between Jasikan to Kadjebi…” he said.
He said driving through Peki, Kpeve, Hohoe Worawora is very terrible.
Meanwhile addressing the Volta Regional House of Chiefs in Ho prior to the 2016 elections, on Friday, October 28, 2016, the then Flag bearer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, disclosed claims made in the NDC’s green book that the “Eastern Corridor project is progressing speedily” proved otherwise.
According to Nana Akufo-Addo, “it is unconscionable to make claims of having built critical roads when the reality is that the people are enduring unimaginable suffering because of the state of the roads.”
It is with this that, the Association are pleading with President Akufo-Addo to come to their aid to construct the road to boost economic activities in the area.
Failure to heed to their call, the youth said they will block the road until it is awarded on contract.
“We will embark on strike if the road is not constructed. Some of the drivers have decided to stop traveling to some of the towns. This is not the change we expected. Some of the drivers had adopted the longer routes because the bad roads…” they lamented.
Watch video below
VIDEO+PHOTOS: Drivers threaten strike over potholes on Eastern corridor road
-