Source: MILLENNIUM NEWS ONLINE
Story by: Swalahudeen Yunus Wakpenjo
‘WE ARE FILLED WITH ANGER’ – GONJA EAST RESIDENTS TELL GOVERNMENT
Residents of Ku-Law in the East Gonja metropolis feel isolated as government after government distance them from their share of the national cake to aid development in the community.
In a report filed by city news, residents of Ku-Law, a voting community of a population of about 15,000, continue to languish in pain of non-availability of social amenities, after years of participation in voting and contributing to national development through regular payment of tax.
In this 21st century, residents of this community and communities surrounding it continue to hunt for telecommunication reception to be able to reach out to their relatives, friends and loved ones. Residents had to seek refuge on top of trees and high places in order to access telecommunication network. According to their narration, these situations really affect their daily economic livelihood.
The only police station in the area equally have their share of the plights, as the only vehicle to aid mobility to combat crime in the area has remained broken for the past three years, as the story revealed. The building of the police station is below standard to aid security activities in the community.
Because information is key in combating crime, officers in the area have had to improvise by stationing a phone to a tree where they feel has some amount of reception to communicate when necessary.
Moreover, amidst all these frustrated working environment and because these officers lack places of convenience, they have had to convert a room into a bath house.
The entire road networks in the area are in dust and making mobility of vehicles difficult. The narration also revealed poor educational infrastructure and inadequate number of teachers to aid teaching and learning.
Sick people have to endure the use of tricycle as ambulance to convey emergency cases, because various hospitals lack ambulance, and bad roads could also be linked to their plights. In most instances, motorbikes are used by patience in all conditions, before getting to the hospital. In cases of emergency, victims have to be sent to Yeji or salaga by tricycle, because there is no well-established health facility.
Animals and human beings share the same stream as source of drinking water. And this water is equally used for other alternatives. Narrating their plights with regards to the availability of good drinking water, the residents lamented they simultaneously drink from the same stream with animals, while others bath and washed their clothes.
These developments have really caused fury and undue anger in chiefs and residents of the community and they have, henceforth, threatened to boycott and ban all political party activities in the community and its environ.
They equally reiterated that they would not entertain any revenue collection by government in the area, and that they would collect their own revenue to develop their community. According to the spokesperson to the chief of the community, during election activities, Ku-Law becomes closer to salaga, however, when elections are over, Ku-law becomes far; and they cannot bring development to the community.
The situation of residents of Ku-Law is pathetic and amounts to violations of human rights; and, therefore, requires urgent attention from stakeholders.