Politics of Friday, 19 August 2016

Source: New Statesman

No road, no vote! Angry Volta residents demonstrate

Residents of Takla, Hodzo and Kpanoe Traditional areas in the Volta Region have vowed not to partake in the upcoming elections if the bad roads in the area are not fixed.
Clad in red and wielding placards, the about two hundred residents took to the streets on Yesterday to register their frustrations.
The residents have accused government of sidelining them in the distrubutioin of developmental projects.
The demonstration comes on the heels of a march earlier this week by NDC supporters in the same area, thanking the President for various developmental projects.
According to the residents who protested yesterday, a journey which could averagely take 15 minutes now takes about an hour due to the deplorable state of roads in the area.
Voltarians have on many occasions cautioned the ruling NDC government to desist from taking them for granted, leading to numerous protests from groups in the region.
Earlier this year, a group in the Volta region organized a march dubbed 'March for Change' to express their dissatisfaction with the NDC government.
In a statement signed by Abraham Futukpor and Eyram Doe, they stressed that Voltarians felt they had been taken for granted by the NDC for far too long.
"For far too long, the NDC has relied on the Volta Region as bedrock of support – referring to it as its World Bank. It is a support that the NDC has taken for granted, which, given the neglect and decay in the region, is no longer justified," they stated.