Restore lifelines of Ayensuano
The collapse of three critical bridges and four culverts in the Ayensuano District in the Eastern Region has left dozens of farming communities stranded, their livelihoods disrupted, and their futures hanging in uncertainty.
Though this could be seen as a matter of infrastructure failure, it is also a humanitarian and economic emergency that demands immediate and concerted action.
The affected communities, Amanase Wawase, Aboabo, Aye Kokooso, Agbemehia, Walabenya, Gorje, Ashuasifrom, and others, have been completely cut off access to markets, schools, and healthcare centres (see page 11, of today’s issue).
The impact of this disaster is extensive, with daily life grinding to a halt for thousands of residents who depend heavily on this route, particularly the Amanase–Aye Kokooso road, to sustain their trade, access essential services and participate in the broader economic system.
For over four years, the bridges and culverts in this district have been in a deplorable state. Community members have consistently expressed concern, but the necessary interventions never came.
Now, in the aftermath of a heavy downpour, the long-neglected infrastructure has finally collapsed, bringing with it an economic lifeline that sustained farming, trading and transport activities.
Indeed, the Daily Graphic thinks that this is a stark indictment of infrastructural neglect.
As a predominantly rural and agrarian district, Ayensuano depends almost entirely on access to roads and bridges for the movement of goods and services.
Crops cultivated in these communities feed many households and markets beyond the district's borders.
When farmers can no longer transport their produce, traders can no longer reach their customers, and health personnel are impeded from reaching patients, a serious development crisis is at hand.
This is not the time for lengthy bureaucratic processes or finger-pointing; it is a time for urgency, empathy and visible leadership.
We join the voices of distressed residents such as, Kwaku Essien and Richard Lartey, who have called passionately on the government, the Ministry of Roads and Highways, development partners and philanthropists to urgently restore these broken bridges and culverts.
Their appeals represent the cries of the people for survival. For communities that have endured bad roads for years, this latest development threatens their very existence. Something must certainly be done immediately to restore the culverts and the bridges.
We urge the Ayensuano District Assembly to take swift interim measures by constructing temporary bypasses to allow for some limited movement of goods and people.
Such emergency works must be treated with urgency, and adequate resources must be provided for them.
At the same time, long-term reconstruction plans must commence immediately, with the Ministry of Roads and Highways spearheading efforts to replace the collapsed structures with durable bridges and properly engineered culverts.
Additionally, this tragedy underscores the broader need for proactive infrastructure maintenance, particularly in rural areas, because they form the bedrock of our national food supply.
Local authorities must not wait for a disaster before intervening.
The cost of inaction is too high, as we now see in Ayensuano.
While we commend the presence of the District Chief Executive and NADMO officials in the affected areas, their presence must lead to action.
Site visits and damage assessments are important, but they need to be followed by genuine and timely solutions.
We must not allow another farming season to pass with these communities in limbo.
The government must mobilise both public and private resources to rebuild what has been lost.
Restoring these roads means restoring hope. Rebuilding these bridges means rebuilding lives.
We must remember the people of Ayensuano in their time of need.
A preventable infrastructural collapse should not turn into a long-lasting economic disaster.
The bridges must rise again, and with them, the dreams of the people.
