Kwabre East Chiefs Angry At Gov’t; But MP Urges Calm
The chiefs and people of Mampongteng Traditional area in the Kwabre East Municipality, in the Ashanti Region, are decrying underdevelopment in the area, laying the blame squarely on the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP).
According to the agitated residents, several promises made to them by the party, have remained unfulfilled, sparking the recent concerns.
Among others, Mampongteng, which is the capital of Kwabre East Municipality, according to the chiefs, could not boast of a single tarred road, and also lacks number of social amenities including, market, hospital and a host of others.
The angry residents are therefore, threatening to stage series of protests in the event that government refuses to give them their share of the national cake.
At a press conference led by the chief of Mampongteng, BarimaSaasiAyeboafo II, accompanied by his elders clad in red and black, they cited examples of projects that were commenced as far back as 2012 to 2019, which have all stalled.
They demanded that the government resume work on all the major projects which have been left to rot at the expense of the taxpayer.
“We demand that government come forth with a definite plan, a blueprint based on the concerns raised, to assure the chiefs and the people of the Kwabre East Municipality”, they warned.
On Tuesday August 9, during the press conference, some of the residents hit the streets to register their displeasure, saying they are running out of patience for the continuous neglect.
According to the people, the town’s road network has remained unattended to, making them very deplorable; adding, there is no single road that is tarred.
At the protest dubbed, “Boniaye Kai”, BarimaSaasiAyeboafo II, questioned government’s commitment to providing them their share of development
BarimaSaasiAyeboafo II, who sounded very disappointed, wondered why the NPP will deprive them of development despite being loyal to the party knowing their contribution to election in the region.
Since 1992, the NPP has always enjoyed unprecedented votes from the Ashanti Region which includes Kwabre East constituency now led by their Member of Parliament (MP) Francisca MaameOteng.
When contacted, the MP told The Anchor, she recognizes the frustration of the people but assured that her office in collaboration with government is doing everything possible to address the problems.
According to her, the two main road projects which were abandoned by the contractor have all been repackaged at the procurement stage to be rewarded to a new contractor; adding that, within a short time the new contractors will go to site for serious work.
The MP who came to Parliament as the youngest has also been nominated for the Deputy Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection position.
But not bothered about the news of their lawmaker’s success, BarimaSaasiAyeboafo II, threatened the town will no longer pride itself as stronghold of the party in the region.
“We are no longer going to accept our current status as voting electorate and basket for the ruling party in the Ashanti region. We are now shifting from voting electorate to policy electorate for meaningful development engagement for the Municipality. Moreover, meaningful developments would now determine our voting pattern”.
He noted specifically, 5.5km town roads that never saw the light of day, after the sod-cutting ceremony in 2019.
“Our state of development remains a major scar, a worrying narrative and an affront to our collective dignity to exercise our right to some basic development projects fundamental to the comfort, security and survival of our people.
“A sod-cutting event in October 2019 by H.E. Nana Addo for the commencement of a 5.5km town roads project for Mampongten was immediately abandoned by the contractor after the fanfare and excitement that greeted the ceremony.
“What wrong have we done to the government to deserve this punishment?” BarimaSaasiAyeboafo II queried.
The traditional ruler also expressed concern about the abandoned jubilee market.
He challenged President Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, to, as a matter of agency, take the necessary steps, to reduce the infrastructure deficit in the municipality.
“The Mampongten market was established about 200years ago and once described as the food basket of Ashanti Region, but has suffered perpetual neglect with dire consequences for the stability and security of Mampongten.
The market project started in 2012 and initiated under the Jubilee market project to transform the market into an ultra-modern state as a major trading centre in the region. It has been discontinued since 2013″, he said.
On health, the residents [are] snubbed in the allocation of hospital under the Agenda 111 project which focuses on the construction of modern district hospital facilities across the country.
It emerged at the presser that only the facility serving the Mampongten township, the municipal capital, built under the benevolence of the late Nana Adu Tutu II, uncle of our traditional leader, has witnessed no significant upgrading to accommodate the current population increase for the past 35 years.
Recall that last week, the youth in the area also held a similar press conference, expressing the same concerns and blasting government over lack of development.
Source: Anchorghana
