Residents of Kwadwo-Addaikrom, a peaceful farming community in the Asunafo North Municipality of the Ahafo Region, are currently living in fear as robbers continue to terrorize the area.
These criminals, as reported by Mr Abraham Kwabena Seipela, the Assemblyman for the Area, have been specifically targeting and robbing our hardworking cocoa farmers and purchasing clerks, often at gunpoint, causing a significant disruption to our community’s livelihood.
During a recent visit to our cocoa-growing community, the residents made a heartfelt plea to the government to expedite the completion of an abandoned police station. This, they believe, will significantly improve our security and help curb the ongoing robberies.
In an interview, Mr Seipela regretted the increasing crime wave in the area, saying criminals had capitalised on the absence of a police station to undertake their criminal activities.
He said another problem confronting the more than 4,500 people was the absence of a telecommunication network in the area due to an abandoned telephony project. This has made it difficult for them to interact in the digital space, hindering communication, and access to important services.
In a brief background, Nana Kofi Anane, the Chief of Kwadwo-Addaikrom, explained the government commenced work on the rural telephony facility and the police station project in 2020.
The Ghana Investment Investment Fund for Electronic Communication (GIFEC) is undertaking the abandoned rural telephony facility to connect and bridge the digital gap in the area.
On the police station project, Nana Anane explained that the project was being executed by the Middle Belt Development Authority (MBDA) under the government’s one-million-per-constituency policy.
He said the chiefs and people of the area released the parcel of land for the project and have been eagerly awaiting its completion. However, he added that work on the project had stalled for almost four years, and the contractor was nowhere to be found.
Nana Anane said Kwadwo-Addaikrom had more than 20 adjoining villages and appealed to the government to facilitate the MBDA and the GIFEC’s resume of work and completion of the projects for use.
He expressed worry that the lack of telecommunication and the rising crime wave had not only slowed socio-economic activities but also discouraged rural and community banks from setting up in the area.
Nana Anane said completing the telephony facility would bridge the digital divide and connect Kwadwo-Addaikrom and its neighbouring communities to the digital world.
Weeds had taken over the police post project, which had reached the lintel stage. However, the building was deteriorating, while the rural telephony facility was also left at the mercy of the weather.
