Goaso (B/A), Sept. 28, GNA - The hopes of 20 communities in the Asunafo North Municipality of the Brong Ahafo Region have been dashed following the abandonment of a rural electrification project under which they were to be connected to the national power grid.

The affected communities include Asumura, Ayimaye, Nfante, Manukrom, Asuadai, Nyamebekyere and Pomakrom whose residents have, for more than two years now, waited in vain to enjoy the benefits of electricity just like their compatriots in other parts of the Region. A visit to the communities by the Ghana News Agency revealed that houses have been wired and cables distributed in the communities, but everything has come to a standstill.

Nana Yaw Adomako, chief of Asumura, expressed regret about the situation, and said all efforts made to persuade the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) and the Asunafo Municipal Assembly for the completion of the project had not yielded any positive result.

When contacted, Mr. Ransford Budu, Ahafo Area Manager of the Electricity Company of Ghana, explained that the company was not responsible for the delay of the project.

"It is the Ministry of Energy that awarded the contract for the extension of service connections", under Phase Three of the self-help electrification project.

Mr. Budu said the contractors on the project complained that the Ministry of Energy had failed to deliver the necessary materials for the completion of the project.

Further investigations conducted by the GNA revealed that similar projects in some communities in the Asunafo South District in the region have suffered the same fate.

In another development, the Sankore Traditional Council in Asunafo South District has appealed to the Ministry of Health to renovate and upgrade the Sankore health centre into a hospital. Nana Yaw Adusei 111, Omanhene of the area, told the GNA in an interview that the centre was built during the Busia Administration and since the completion of existing structures about 25 years ago, no meaningful rehabilitation had been carried out. He said the Council had noted that the health centre at Sankore and that of Nyinahin were started the same year but the latter had since been converted into a hospital whilst Sankore's had remained as it is. "Sankore stands among the prolific cocoa growing areas in the country and must be accorded a reciprocal development agenda without delay", the council stated.