Commuters on the Manso-Bekwai road were left stranded, following a demonstration by drivers who ply their trade on that stretch.
The drivers, who numbered about two hundred, were protesting over the state of the 28 kilometres Anwiankwanta-Manso Atwedea road.
The impact was so serious that businesses and other activities were largely affected by the protest which lingered for hours.
Wearing red attires and bands around their necks and hands, the irate drivers, who were joined by sections of the masses, blocked the roads. They held placards which bore inscriptions such as “Manso Nkwanta too deserves asphalt”, “Manso too is part of Ghana”, and “So Manso has leaders?”
Drivers of commercial vehicles were stopped, while passengers were also evicted from cars. Some drivers who were conversant with the Manso road resorted to different routes in an attempt to eke out a living.
The protest, which started at Kwabena Nkwanta amidst police protection, was also replicated at Yaahemekrom, Antoakrom and the Manso Nkwanta District Assembly.
Presenting their petition to the Amansie West District Assembly, Mr. Yaw Frimpong, Chairman of the Manso Nkwanta Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU), expressed worry to the Assembly about the deplorable nature of the Anwiankwanta-Manso Abore stretch.
According to Frimpong, as drivers and residents of Manso, it was their duty to bring to the attention of the authorities the horrible nature of their roads which were causing ‘great inconvenience’ to the district.
This challenge, according to them, did not only pose risks to the residents, passengers and drivers, but also hampered the overall development of the Amansie West District.
The Manso Nkwanta GPRTU authority further explained that the poor condition of the road had led to an increase in road accidents and rampant armed robbery in the communities dotted the roads.
“Lack of proper drainage systems has resulted in water logging during rainy seasons causing further damage to the roads and inconvenience to drivers and passengers.”
He bemoaned that Manso roads had been in a terrible state for decades, with many areas completely eroded.
“Drivers are suffering severely due to high cost of maintenance, which deprives us from rendering our sales weekly to our vehicle owners; because of these deplorable roads pregnant women are losing their lives during delivery.”
In an interaction with some passengers at Kwabena Nkwanta Adwoa Agyei, a resident of the area lamented that their road was bad and as such, drivers did not work on the road from five o’clock in the evening.
According to Adwoa, the Kwabena Nkwanta stretch punished the Vice President of the Republic, Alhaji Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, when his vehicle stuck in a muddy road when he campaigned at Manso, ahead of the Super Delegates Conference.
She indicated that armed robbers had taken advantage of the bad nature of the road to rob them.
Adwoa Agyei, therefore, pleaded with Jubilee House to come and get their road fixed.
In an interaction with another lady, who spoke on condition of anonymity, she expressed worry over what she described as neglect, accusing the Member of Parliament for Bekwai of misleading Ghanaians that Amansie roads under his reign had been fixed.
According her, she was disappointed in the political leadership in the Amansie enclave, stressing that the Kwabena Nkwanta stretch, which was part of Bekwai Constituency, had been neglected by the authorities.
