The Paramount Chief of the Kologo Traditional Area in the Kasena-Nankana Municipality of the Upper East Region, Naba Clifford Abagna Asobayire V, has appealed to government to help address the developmental challenges in his area.

He said Kologo has for a long time lacked some important amenities such as good roads, a police station, medical personnel, and electricity despite its fast-growing population.

The Kologo Naba who was speaking to Journalists at his Palace on Friday said the challenges have made life difficult for his people and the area unattractive to workers and foreigners who want to invest.

He added that the challenges have slowed the growth and development of the Kologo area despite that it is an old town.

22 km Navrongo-Kologo-Naaga road

The Navrongo-Kologo-Naaga road, about 22 km, is full of potholes with fewer bridges and drains making it difficult for road users to ply especially during the rainy season when portions of it get flooded.

Naba Clifford Abagna Asobayire V, who commended government for capturing the road in the budget and giving it out to a contractor for commencement of work, said its deplorable state requires quick and immediate intervention to construct it to improve transportation and open the area up for business.

Narrating his share of troubles traveling on the road, he said the construction of the road will bring absolute relief to motorists and help improve access to health care in Navrongo and save lives during emergency situations.

He, therefore, urged government to quickly release funding for the contractor, who has been awarded the contract, to move to site to save suffering motorists from body pains and respiratory-problem-causing thick dust.

Lack of medical staff, renovation at Kologo Health Centre

Kologo Naba also expressed worry over the challenges facing the community’s health centre. He said the centre, which has not been renovated for almost a decade resulting in the collapse of the fence walls, faces a lack of adequate infrastructure and medical personnel.

He, therefore, appealed to the government, the Municipal Assembly and the Health Ministry to take urgent steps to provide the Kologo Health centre with the needed infrastructure, medical staff and give it a facelift so it can better serve the health needs of the people.

Rural Electrification

On electrification, Naba Clifford Abagna Asobayire V said a good number of communities within his Traditional Area have not been connected to the national grid.

He said communities such as Tangabisi, Nayire, Kologo-Zuo, and Kulebngo are suburbs without electricity and that has impacted negatively on the academic performances of students in those communities.

He said the extension of power to those communities and the entirety of Kologo will improve academic work of students as it will enable and encourage them undertake night studies at home.

He added that the extension of electricity and the planting of street lights in the communities will help fight the activities of criminals who hide under the cover of darkness to perpetrate crimes.

Lack of Police station to fight crime

Naba Clifford Abagna Asobayire V bemoaned the lack of a Police Station in Kologo. He said despite the calm and peaceful nature of the area, it is important for the establishment of a Police Station to fight the nefarious activities of criminals.

He also appealed to the Police administration and Military, who are in the region to fight terrorism and activities of extremists, to extend their nightly patrols to Kologo and its communities to provide safety for the indigenes.

Commitment to fight illegal Rosewood felling and Bushfires

The Paramount Chief reiterated his commitment to intensify his fight against illegal chain-saw operators whose activities are depleting the large reserves of indigenous trees such as the Rosewood in the area.

Activities of illegal chain-saw operators account for the destruction of the Kologo Forest which until its exploitation was very dense.

But Naba Clifford Abagna Asobayire V who is not happy with the rate at which Kologo is losing its forest cover hints measures being put in place by the traditional council to curb the menace.

He said, he has, as part efforts to increase the number of trees in the area also undertaken a project to plant trees. The project according to him has seen the planting of over 6,000 seedlings of improved trees.

He said: “Illegal felling of rosewood still remains a challenge to us in Kologo. The chain-saw operators have intensified their activities and that is a worry to me. But as the paramount chief, I am doing my best and will also intensify my effort to completely rid the area of their activities.

I have also rolled out a tree-planting project to grow more trees to make up for the lost ones. The project has seen the planting of over 2,000 seedlings last year and over 4,000 this year”.

As a professional firefighter, the Paramount Chief is also sensitizing community members on the dangers of bushfires which have been very rampant in the area in the past.
He cautions the people of Kologo to be careful dealing with fire on their farms, especially as the harmattan season approach.