Residents of Oforikrom demand repair of the crumbling bridge and protest government indifference

Scores of residents within the Oforikrom Municipality of the Ashanti region on Saturday morning poured onto the streets to protest what they describe as years of neglect by authorities.

The group, by the name Concerned Youth of Oforikrom laments that their area has over the years been lagging behind in terms of development.

They have partly attributed the underdevelopment in the municipality to what they describe as the incompetence of the Member of Parliament and the Municipal Chief Executive for the area.

In June 2021, 50-year-old Akosua Dufie met her untimely death after she got drowned in her attempt to cross the dilapidated bridge at Sisakyi within the Oforikrom municipality of the Ashanti region.

Residents say despite numerous appeals to authorities, urgent measures have not been taken to fix the bridge.

Cladded in black and red apparel, the protestors held placards with inscriptions such as “Anloga Sisakyi Bridge has claimed countless lives, Fix it”, “Fix our roads, our children do not go to school during the rainy season” among others.

Jerry James Sukah, the Convener of the group addressed the media and said the residents could no longer take the neglect.

“We are citizens of Ghana, we pay taxes and must be treated as such. We vote leaders into power and are neglected after they get what they want. Enough is enough.”

“We won’t sit for this injustice to be done. We demand development in our area, and we demand it now.”

Although construction works have commenced on the bridge, the group wants authorities to expedite work to ensure its completion before the rainy season.