Correspondence from Savannah Region

Residents of Yarkoi, a community in the Sawla-Tuna-Kalba District of the Savannah Region have appealed to the government to extend social amenities to the area.

For ages, people have been without basic social amenities such as portable drinking water, telecommunication network, and electricity amongst others.

Mr. Sobaltey Edmund, the president of Yarkoi Youth Association made this appeal in an interview on the sidelines of an annual celebration of the Youth Association.

He also asked the government to construct a JHS block for the community which is the second largest community after Kalba to enhance education in the area.

Mr Sobaltey disclosed that, due to the lack of social amenities in the area, little progress has been made especially in the area of economic stability.

According to him, the lack of electricity in the area has adversely become an extreme obstacle to the youth who wants to acquire vocational skills like hairdressing, and dressmaking amongst others in other to become self-reliant.

He further bemoaned that the unavailability of electricity is having a negative impact on the social and economic livelihood of the people.

He also noted that, the deplorable nature of the road linking the community to Kunfugsi through Tuna to Sawla, the District capital has forced residents of the area who are predominantly farmers to walk long distances with farm produce to market centres adding that pregnant women are the most affected people.

"It is sad that pregnant women in the area have to be carried on motorbikes to seek medical attention at Tuna, Kalba and Sawla all because we don’t have a health facility within our community", he lamented.

The president of the Youth Association also made a passionate appeal to the District Chief Executive to as a matter of importance assist them dredge the only dam in the community which he said was constructed in the 1980s.

He stressed that it is their only major source of water which needs to be sustained in anticipation better source of potable drinking water from the central government.

He assured their preparedness to provide communal labour for any developmental project that the government extend to the community.

He used the opportunity to rally all youth groups in the Savannah Region to continue to hold to the peace being enjoyed in their respective area.