Pio Alhaji Yakubu Sumaila Chirsiru, the paramount Chief of the Banu Traditional Area in the Sissala East Municipality has appealed for electricity extension to all communities in the area.
He said only six out of the 14 communities in the Banu paramountcy had been connected to the national grid, which was a worry.
Pio Chirsiru made the appeal when Mr Stephen Yakubu, the Upper West regional minister visited the Banu paramountcy as part of his regional tours to introduce himself to the chiefs and people.
Pio Chirsiru said the communities had the right to be connected to national grid since they were part of Ghana’s governance system contributing to the country’s development.
He explained that without electricity, the area would continue to remain deprived with development eluding them, hence the reason they must not be neglected.
He also identified the lack of access roads from Kunchokor- Kwapun, Kwapun – Wuru, Tanla – Nitalu and Tangvielle, which need urgent attention.
Other poor roads he mentioned included Pido- Wuru as well as Kassana- Tangvielli – Konsola and Katinia.
“We have serious water challenges here because there are fewer boreholes to serve communities that have a population more than the water source and this is affecting community cohesion,” the Chief bemoaned
He added that several communities lie on the borderline but had no access to communication networks and appealed for telecommunication networks for the communities in the area.
He stressed the importance of the completion of a security post under construction at Ban, which started almost four years ago.
Some inhabitants of Tanla, Nitalu and Tengvielli expressed worry about the poor conditions in the area and appealed for support.
They said, “We live in darkness every night, even flour for our meals, we have to take it to other communities to mill, during the hot season, we developed strange skin rashes and snake bites are usually common.”
Mr Musah Kwarasey an indigene said teachers and other workers don’t sleep in the community because of the absence of electricity and that they spend about GH¢6.00 every day travelling to nearby communities with lights to charge their phones. Mr Stephen Yakubu assured the people that the challenges were problems the government of the NPP had always tried to resolve.
He urged all that the government was committed to providing their needs saying, “I don’t usually promise but this particular road before December would be sorted out.”
