Correspondence from the Upper East region

Roads and Highways Minister, Kwesi Amoako Atta, has given assurance that he will sit with the contractor working on the Navrongo-Sandema Highway to find an alternative way to construct and improve roads in Sandema without destroying the iconic mahogany trees lined up along the road.

He said, inasmuch as the road construction project was important in opening up the town to numerous economic opportunities, protecting the environment was also very important and all must do well to preserve it.

Recently, GhanaWeb reported on the endangered beautiful mahogany trees lined up on both sides of the road as one enters or leaves Sandema through Wiaga and how an important road project was threatening their existence.

In the report, the District Chief Executive (DCE), David Afoko, confirmed the decision to pull down the trees explaining that they will be processed for sale and the revenue invested into planting more trees in the area.

The report sparked a debate among residents of the town and environmental activists who condemned the decision. A good number of the people both home and away disapproved the decision and gathered signatures to stop authorities from destroying their identity.

But the roads and highways minister has told GhanaWeb that he is not in agreement with the decision and will hold talks with the construction firm in charge of the road to find a possible appropriate diversion of the road.

“I know those trees and let’s face it, we all know the importance of trees. I know those trees bordering the road in Sandema, they are beautiful if you are driving through them. They also beautify the road. I don’t support that they cut them but I sometimes have fears, God forbid if you are driving on that road and you hit one of those strong trees. But with the Sandema trees, they lead you to town and people must drive slowly. My personal opinion is we should maintain the trees; they are beautiful,” he said.

He added that “I will speak to the contractor, My Turn, if there is the possibility to divert the road to save the trees.”

The Minister urged the contractor to technically investigate the situation and see what can be done to satisfy the needs of the people. He said in the event a diversion is possible, the rest of the road between the trees would be developed into a pure local road to encourage businesses near it.

He noted that the diversion would mean additional but assured to make the necessary financial adjustment once a decision had been reached.



The Minister embarked on a tour to inspect road and bridge projects in the region. He first visited the Bolgatanga-Bawku-Polmankon road where he stopped at intervals to inspect the progress of work and interacted with workers.

He inspected asphalting work on the Zuarungu Township road and proceeded to the Tamne and Kulungungu Bridges in the Garu and Pusiga districts respectively.

The Minister concluded his inspection tour in Bongo where he inspected work on the Balungu bridge. The completion of the Balungu bridge, which connects an ECOWAS road, would open up the Bongo district to business opportunities with neighbouring Burkina Faso.