Naa Fuseini Seidu Pelpuo IV, the Overlord of the Wala Traditional Area, has urged President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to redeem his promise of rehabilitating the Wa-Bole-Bamboi highway before the end of his tenure.

He said the deplorable nature of the Wa-Bole-Bamboi road had become like a nightmare for travellers.

The Overlord recounted that “During his most recent visit to my palace, President Akufo-Addo promised to fix the road as his patent gift to the people of the Upper West Region. We are anxiously waiting for action to be taken on that road.”

Naa Pelpuo made the call when he addressed scores of chiefs and people of the area and some members of the Upper West Regional House of Chiefs at the climax of the 2024 Dumba festival celebration of the chiefs and people of the Wala Traditional Area.

The celebration, on the theme: “Uniting Our Heritage, Embracing Our Future, Celebrating Resilience and Progress in the Wala State,” also saw a government delegation led by the Minister of Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs and the Upper West Regional Minister in attendance.

Naa Pelpuo indicated that the visit of the Ministers of Finance and Roads and Highways to assess these roads had raised the hopes of the people to at least see a facelift to the infrastructure.

He commended the President Akufo-Addo-led government for fixing some major roads within the traditional area, including the Wa-Jonga road, and appealed to the authorities to fix that of Wa-Sing-Loggu too, which was a major commercial road in the traditional area, to help improve commerce among the local communities.

Other challenges Naa Pelpuo mentioned included the precarious security situation in the Wa Municipality, which resulted in serial ritual killings recorded in the area in recent times.

He attributed that partly to the poor illumination in the Municipality at night, especially in the Wa township, which needed urgent attention.

He also appealed for the elevation of the Wa Municipal Assembly to a metropolitan status and carving out a district from it, to ensure balanced development for the communities of the Wala State.

Others were completing the infrastructure projects at the SDD University for Business and Integrated Development Studies and provision of hostels for the Dr. Hilla Limann Technical University and Wa Nursing Training College, to help improve academic activities in these institutions.

Mr. Stephen Asamoah Boateng, the Minister of Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs, assured the revered chief and his people of transmitting his concerns to the President for the necessary actions to be taken.

Talking about the Wa-Bole-Bamboi road, he said it had been awarded on contract and the contractor was expected to be on site.

President Akufo-Addo donated GH¢20,000.00 to support the Dumba festival celebration.