Full statement by sissala Youth Forum (SYF) - To the president of Ghana
"Ref: SYF/00/PET/C/19 Your Ref: ………………
Dear Sir,
Your Excellency,
The President of the Republic,
Jubilee House, Accra.
Dear Sir,
PETITION FOR THE IMMEDIATE FIXING OF THE DEPLORABLE ROAD
NETWORK IN THE SISSALA ENCLAVE
With deep regret and utmost discontent, the leadership of the Sissala Youth Forum (SYF) for and on behalf of the entire Sissala people living in the Upper West Region of Ghana, wishes to
petition your outfit on the deplorable road network that has engulfed the Sissala area for some time now.
Out of the total road network in the Upper West Region of 3,041km, Sissala Area alone has a total network of about 1,410.2km representing 45.2% of the entire regional network comprisingengineered, partially engineered & unegineered roads.
The area also has about 350km of its roads being inter-districts linking other districts within the region, 648.2 km being connectors linking other roads without coming back to the starting node and 412 km being access roads which are roads that do not link to any road and have to come back to the starting node.
Your Excellency, leadership of the Forum complained to you over the bad road situation in the Sissala area when they were privileged to meet you on October 19, 2018 at the Jubilee House. Leadership was again privileged to directly appeal to you on the need to work on Sissala roads with dispatch when they were part of a delegation with the Paramount Chief of Gwollu, Kuoro Bukutie Liman II on November 2, 2018. On each of these visits, you assured us that significant work would be seen on the roads very soon. As we speak, all the roads are terribly inaccessible.
Mr. President, when you attended the climax of the 2019 Paregbiele Festival of the Chiefs and People of the Sissala traditional areas on March 23, you were honored the accolade
‘NANDONTEGNE’ meaning a TRUE & TRUSTED FRIEND’. On this occasion, His Excellency the Paramount Chief of the Tumu Traditional Council and President of the Upper West Regional House of Chiefs, Kuoro Richard Babini Kanton VI directly appealed to you on
the need to urgently attend to our roads since the Sissala area is the food basket of the country.
As we gather here this morning, we are yet to see your demonstration of ‘NANDONTEGNE’
when it comes to our road network.
Your Excellency, permit me to catalogue some of the roads in the Sissala Land that need
urgent attention.
• Wa – Tumu – Bolga through Han
• Tumu-Walembelle-Funsi through Wahabu
• Tumu-Bugubelle-Kajukperi through Wahabu
• Tumu-Gwollu-Lambussie through Zini & Suke
• Gwollu-Bullu linking Han through Jefissi
• Tumu-Dolinbizon & Nmanduanu through Nabugubelle
• Tumu-Challu through Kulfuo to Bichemboi and Nabulo and
• Walembelle-Nabulo to Sandema through Santijan among other deplorable roads
• Tumu town and Gwollu town roads are equally terrible giving rise to accidents
We cannot therefore, fathom how you arrived at those critical roads as contained in the 2020
budget statement that is currently being discussed by Parliament.
Our checks indicate that most of these roads have been awarded on contract for some time now but payment is yet to be effected. We know resources are woefully adequate but let the truth be told, how can an army move on an empty stomach? The Tumu-Sorbelle road that is still being upgraded is already a death trap for the citizenry. Instead of using gravel, the contractor used clay which produces excessive dust 10 clear minutes after a vehicle has plied the road. Students at United Basic School and people living by the road side along the stretch often fall sick due to the dust they inhale every day.
We call on you to as a matter of urgency, to direct the Contractor to use gravel rather than
the clay he used.Let it again be put on record that it is only Tumu, the capital of the Sissala East Municipal that is not connected to the Upper West Regional capital by a tarred road among the Municipalities in the Region.
It is also refreshing to remind you that three (3) out of the five (5) New Patriotic Party (NPP)
Members of Parliament in the Upper West Region are from the Sissala areas. How fair are you to us if you cannot fix our roadsconsidering the fact that we are predominantly farmers?Your Excellency, apart from our road network, the Sissala people have been grappling with poor electricity supply for some time now. We find it very difficult to appreciate the cause of the problem from Personnel of the Volta River Authority (VRA) in the area. Within a day, power can go off for more than 12 times whether rain or shine and when it is returning, it comes eitherwith very high or very low voltage.
The situation has caused significant destruction and irreparable damage to people’s refrigerators, television sets and other electronic gadgets in the area. The frequent fluctuation in power no doubt, has slowed down productivity in both public
and private businesses.We want an immediate stop to this absolute mess being slapped on people in the area be stopped with effect from today else, do not blame us for anything untoward.Mr. President, as a matter of urgency, we demand that:
• all contractors on the Sissala roads be paid to return to site to work on the roads
• the Wa-Tumu-Bolga Road be tarred by May 2020
• all the other high ways be tarred and all feeder roads in the area up-graded with
immediate effect to arrest accidents and armed robbery
• Tumu Town and Gwollu Town Roads be worked on immediately
• the Tumu-Sorbelle road still under construction be re-graveled and not re-clayed and
• the frequent power outages be halted to accelerate development in the Sissala land
Your Excellency, we want to state without mincing words that the Sissala people will
boycott the 2020 Presidential and Parliamentary elections if these demands are ignored.
Thank you.
…SIGNED……
YAHAYA MUMUNI GBENE.
PRESIDENT,
TEL: 0243704729.
…SIGNED…
SAKIBU FUSEINI
SYF SECRETARY, SYF
TEL: 0244686431
THRUOGH:
THE HON. REGIONAL MINISTER
UPPER WEST REGION
WA
THE HON. CHIEF EXECUTIVE
SISSALA EAST MUNICIPAL ASSEMBLY
TUMU "
Source: SYF Whatssap group.
Dear Sir,
Your Excellency,
The President of the Republic,
Jubilee House, Accra.
Dear Sir,
PETITION FOR THE IMMEDIATE FIXING OF THE DEPLORABLE ROAD
NETWORK IN THE SISSALA ENCLAVE
With deep regret and utmost discontent, the leadership of the Sissala Youth Forum (SYF) for and on behalf of the entire Sissala people living in the Upper West Region of Ghana, wishes to
petition your outfit on the deplorable road network that has engulfed the Sissala area for some time now.
Out of the total road network in the Upper West Region of 3,041km, Sissala Area alone has a total network of about 1,410.2km representing 45.2% of the entire regional network comprisingengineered, partially engineered & unegineered roads.
The area also has about 350km of its roads being inter-districts linking other districts within the region, 648.2 km being connectors linking other roads without coming back to the starting node and 412 km being access roads which are roads that do not link to any road and have to come back to the starting node.
Your Excellency, leadership of the Forum complained to you over the bad road situation in the Sissala area when they were privileged to meet you on October 19, 2018 at the Jubilee House. Leadership was again privileged to directly appeal to you on the need to work on Sissala roads with dispatch when they were part of a delegation with the Paramount Chief of Gwollu, Kuoro Bukutie Liman II on November 2, 2018. On each of these visits, you assured us that significant work would be seen on the roads very soon. As we speak, all the roads are terribly inaccessible.
Mr. President, when you attended the climax of the 2019 Paregbiele Festival of the Chiefs and People of the Sissala traditional areas on March 23, you were honored the accolade
‘NANDONTEGNE’ meaning a TRUE & TRUSTED FRIEND’. On this occasion, His Excellency the Paramount Chief of the Tumu Traditional Council and President of the Upper West Regional House of Chiefs, Kuoro Richard Babini Kanton VI directly appealed to you on
the need to urgently attend to our roads since the Sissala area is the food basket of the country.
As we gather here this morning, we are yet to see your demonstration of ‘NANDONTEGNE’
when it comes to our road network.
Your Excellency, permit me to catalogue some of the roads in the Sissala Land that need
urgent attention.
• Wa – Tumu – Bolga through Han
• Tumu-Walembelle-Funsi through Wahabu
• Tumu-Bugubelle-Kajukperi through Wahabu
• Tumu-Gwollu-Lambussie through Zini & Suke
• Gwollu-Bullu linking Han through Jefissi
• Tumu-Dolinbizon & Nmanduanu through Nabugubelle
• Tumu-Challu through Kulfuo to Bichemboi and Nabulo and
• Walembelle-Nabulo to Sandema through Santijan among other deplorable roads
• Tumu town and Gwollu town roads are equally terrible giving rise to accidents
We cannot therefore, fathom how you arrived at those critical roads as contained in the 2020
budget statement that is currently being discussed by Parliament.
Our checks indicate that most of these roads have been awarded on contract for some time now but payment is yet to be effected. We know resources are woefully adequate but let the truth be told, how can an army move on an empty stomach? The Tumu-Sorbelle road that is still being upgraded is already a death trap for the citizenry. Instead of using gravel, the contractor used clay which produces excessive dust 10 clear minutes after a vehicle has plied the road. Students at United Basic School and people living by the road side along the stretch often fall sick due to the dust they inhale every day.
We call on you to as a matter of urgency, to direct the Contractor to use gravel rather than
the clay he used.Let it again be put on record that it is only Tumu, the capital of the Sissala East Municipal that is not connected to the Upper West Regional capital by a tarred road among the Municipalities in the Region.
It is also refreshing to remind you that three (3) out of the five (5) New Patriotic Party (NPP)
Members of Parliament in the Upper West Region are from the Sissala areas. How fair are you to us if you cannot fix our roadsconsidering the fact that we are predominantly farmers?Your Excellency, apart from our road network, the Sissala people have been grappling with poor electricity supply for some time now. We find it very difficult to appreciate the cause of the problem from Personnel of the Volta River Authority (VRA) in the area. Within a day, power can go off for more than 12 times whether rain or shine and when it is returning, it comes eitherwith very high or very low voltage.
The situation has caused significant destruction and irreparable damage to people’s refrigerators, television sets and other electronic gadgets in the area. The frequent fluctuation in power no doubt, has slowed down productivity in both public
and private businesses.We want an immediate stop to this absolute mess being slapped on people in the area be stopped with effect from today else, do not blame us for anything untoward.Mr. President, as a matter of urgency, we demand that:
• all contractors on the Sissala roads be paid to return to site to work on the roads
• the Wa-Tumu-Bolga Road be tarred by May 2020
• all the other high ways be tarred and all feeder roads in the area up-graded with
immediate effect to arrest accidents and armed robbery
• Tumu Town and Gwollu Town Roads be worked on immediately
• the Tumu-Sorbelle road still under construction be re-graveled and not re-clayed and
• the frequent power outages be halted to accelerate development in the Sissala land
Your Excellency, we want to state without mincing words that the Sissala people will
boycott the 2020 Presidential and Parliamentary elections if these demands are ignored.
Thank you.
…SIGNED……
YAHAYA MUMUNI GBENE.
PRESIDENT,
TEL: 0243704729.
…SIGNED…
SAKIBU FUSEINI
SYF SECRETARY, SYF
TEL: 0244686431
THRUOGH:
THE HON. REGIONAL MINISTER
UPPER WEST REGION
WA
THE HON. CHIEF EXECUTIVE
SISSALA EAST MUNICIPAL ASSEMBLY
TUMU "
Source: SYF Whatssap group.
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