Residents in the Shama Constituency of the Western Region have listed poor roads and inadequate market centres as their top developmental issues going into the 2024 general elections.
According to them, successive governments have failed to re-construct many deplorable roads in the Constituency, a situation that hampered smooth facilitation of economic activities within the area.
This came to light when the Western Regional Chapter of the Ghana Journalist Association (GJA), organised a town hall meeting, at Inchaban in the Shama District, to empower the electorate to demand good governance from political leadership in the Constituency.
The meeting formed part of the GJA’s “Western Region Manifesto Project”, implemented under the theme: “Harnessing Digital Journalism for Informed Political Dialogue and Manifesto Scrutiny.”
The 10-month project is being implemented with funding support from the Canada Fund for Local Initiatives (CFLI), to help empower the electorate to demand good governance and development in their communities.
The town hall meeting provided a platform for residents to voice out their concerns and issues that bothered on their developmental needs for answers from political leadership in the Constituency.
Mr. Justice Coffie, a resident of Inchaban, said: “The nature of roads in most parts of our constituency is very bad. We also pay tax, so our leaders must ensure we get a fair share of the national roads’ projects.”
Another resident, Uncle Peter, expressed similar concerns and said the situation made commuting within communities difficult, especially when it rained.
“There is also constant traffic congestion along the highway from Inchaban to Sekondi Junction. We would greatly appreciate an alternative route or the dualisation of that stretch to ease the daily gridlock,” he added.
A market woman, who gave her name as Auntie Bee, expressed worry over the inadequate market space for the traders within the area.
She, thus, called on authorities to take immediate steps to provide enough market structures for them “so that some of our colleagues can move from selling by the roadsides.”
Others also mentioned unemployment, streetlights, sanitation, healthcare facilities, and school infrastructure among others as some of the pressing issues in the constituency that needed attention from authorities.
Mr. Desmond Cudjoe, the Chairman of the Western Region GJA, assured the residents that their concerns would be documented and presented to parliamentary candidates in the constituency for redress when elected to office.
Representatives of the National Democratic Congress and New Patriotic Party took turns to explain their various development plans for the constituency to help the electorate make informed decisions in the December 7 polls.
