A community’s cry for help: Israel’s town road crisis deepens

Residents of Israel, a suburb of Anyaa Sowutuom  in the Ga Central Municipality in the Greater Accra Region, are faced with a growing crisis, as their once busy roads have deteriorated to an impassable mess of potholes and mud.

Even motorcycles and big trucks can no longer navigate the about four-kilometre stretch of road which leads to the over 150 homes, businesses and shops.

Despite repeated pleas to the local authorities, the community remains isolated, a situation that has left residents frustrated and worried as the poor state of the roads continue to impact their lives and businesses negatively.

The Municipal Chief Executive (MCE), Ambrose Tsegah, despite having assured residents that the roads would be fixed by the end of June, this year,  no work had been done as observed by the Daily Graphic when it visited the area. 

Residents

In an interview with the Daily Graphic, Kwame Annang, who owns a house in the area, said the community had been cut off from the main road due to the bad state of their roads.

He said due to the nature of the roads in the area, anytime it rained it caused erosion, which further destroyed the roads.

“Attempts have been made by residents to level it and make it usable but the area is on a slope so anytime it rains, it washes away the sand, and now not even motorcycles or four wheel cars can use it.

“From first curve to second curve is just  five minutes drive, but due to the poor state of the roads, drivers have to go through other routes.

“There is an alternative route but that is creating a lot of inconvenience, journeys that were taking about five minutes now take about 25 to 30 minutes, which have increased the cost of transportation for residents.

It’s been over five years now and several discussions with the local authorities have not yielded any results so we are pleading with the government to come to our aid,” he said.

Struggling businesses

Samuel Ocran, a resident who also has his tailoring shop in the area, said his business was struggling as a result of the poor state of the roads, as customers struggled to reach his shop.

“For two years now, no car has used this road and this has slowed down businesses in the area because if cars are passing by and the road is busy, that is when our business booms, but with no car using the road for the past two years, business has been slow.

He said the authorities informed them that the road had been awarded to a contractor but there was no sign of the contractor starting work anytime soon.

Health concerns

Another resident, Stephen Amofa, also said the dusty nature of the roads also raised health concerns for residents.

“When it rains the houses and compounds of residents get flooded, we are really suffering,” he said.

Joseph Mpe, also a resident, said the main problem was the poor drainage system in the area.

“From Agenda through Lomnava, the drainage is small so when it rains it overflows and that is the main problem, as it causes erosion on the roads,” he said.

 “We have engaged the authorities several times and they keep promising but nothing is being done,” he said. Attempts by the Daily Graphic to speak to the district chief executive of the area has so far proved futile.