Four yam producing districts in the Volta and Northern Regions have been cut off from the southern part of the country as a result of the deplorable nature of roads. 

Travelers and foodstuff traders from the Krachi West, Krachi Nchumuru, Kpandai and Wulensi districts now spend between twelve and thirty hours to get to Accra.  

Manasseh Azure Awuni traveled to Kete-Krachi over the weekend and reports that the situation has been worsened by the rains.

Confusion at the Gyatoakura section of the Krachi-Dambai road is a daily ritual. This is the road from Krachi West and Nchumuru districts of the Volta Region to Accra. Travelers from Kpandai, and Wulensi districts in the Northern Region also use this road to Accra. 

These districts are among the leading producers of staples such as yam and cassava. Manasseh,, who used the road last Friday, departed from Accra at 5 A.M., and at 5P.M, was still far from reaching Kete-Krachi. Large potholes have developed into ponds of muddy water, leaving the Gyatoakura section of the road un-navigable and hundreds of travelers stranded. 

“There’s no single truck that can pass without assistance. This makes it very terrible,” said DCOP Gyinae Peterkin, the Volta Regional Police Commander. He was travelling to Kete-Krachi and had to stop and assist some vehicle owners whose vehicles had broken down.

The road to Kete-Krachi is littered with potholes and parts of it are punctuated by ponds of water, some of which are above knee level. The only reason passengers and traders in foodstuffs are able to move out of the four districts to the southern part of the country is that over a dozen young men from nearby volunteer  to cut tree branches to help vehicles cross.

“I am disappointed in the influential people from Kete-Krachi. They won’t repair the road. They wait until it is election time thenthey come and share money,” said Emmanuel Okai Kwame, a resident of Dambai.
It takes over 12 hours to travel from Accra to Kete-Krachi because of the ferry crossing at the Oti River. For travelers who miss the ferry due to delays at the crossing at Senchi, it takes close to 30 hours to reach Krachi and more to get to Kpandai or Wulensi. 

With this section of the road virtually cut off, it is now impossible to say how long a journey from Accra to

With this section of the road virtually cut off, it is now impossible to say how long a journey from Accra to Krachi will take. And until authorities do something drastic about this road, transporting yam, cassava and other foodstuff to the southern part of the country will remain a nightmare.