UW/R: Wa East District lagging in development two decades after creation

Some residents of the Wa East District of the Upper West Region have expressed worry over the lack of development in the district and called on the leadership to take the necessary action to ensure its development.

They said after two decades of its creation, the district's development was at the “speed of a tortoise” leaving it to grapple with a multitude of challenges that affected the daily livelihoods of the residents.

The residents accused the Assembly, led by the District Chief Executive (DCE), Dr Ewurah S.K. Mahama, of abandoning the district and staying in Wa, which was a major setback to development.

Mr Nalada Hilia Mahama Sampuo, the Convener, South Sissala Unity for Development, raised the concern in Funsi at the weekend during a press conference addressed on his behalf by Mr Alex Jakeri Tuduro, a leading member of the group.

The press conference was to communicate the displeasure of the youth and elders of the district over the reluctance of its leadership towards resolving their development needs.

Mr Sampuo could not fathom why the District Education Directorate would operate from Wa while there was a well-furnished office for it at Funsi currently manned by only the security man.

The aggrieved residents could not also understand why the DCE and other key departmental heads would abandon bungalows allocated to them in the capital, Funsi, to rot.

They mentioned the deteriorating state of major roads that hinder the mobility and economic activities of the people, saying it was disheartening.

Some roads they cited were the Funsi-Yaala-Kundugu, Funsi-Nymbanduu and Danyuakuraa-Diskora-Kulung-Yaala roads, which were very deplorable, affecting productivity as farmers found it difficult to access their farms.

Mr Sampuo indicated that the Funsi-Wahabu road project had also stalled, expressing fears that it would not be accessible during the peak of the rains.

“There's not even a kilometre of tarred road in the district,” he said, and called for an upgrading of the 0.6 km Muliabe- Funsi main road, part of the Gulf of Guinea Northern Regions Social Cohesion (SOCO) project at Funsi.

The project has stalled, and the contractor has vacated the site, he noted.

Mr Sampuo said the abandoned SOCO project within the heart of the Funsi Town was disastrous as it was causing floods and accidents.

A visit to the project site by the Ghana News Agency saw that gutters had been constructed and heaps of sand deposited on the margins of the road, a project expected to be completed by 31st May 2024.

Other challenges he mentioned were the non-functioning fire tenders, with four abandoned projects; the girls' dormitory project at the Funsi Senior High School, soybean processing factory, Agenda 111 project, and Assembly Guest House, all at Funsi.

He explained that the health facilities in the district were plagued with a myriad of challenges including a lack of delivery beds, affecting women in labour.

Traders at the Funsi market had no toilet facility, which leads to open defecation, while market tolls were collected from them weekly.

The aggrieved residents called for immediate action by the Member of Parliament and the DCE to change the face of the district, else they would resort to other legal means to get their grievances addressed.

GNA