The poor condition of the access roads in the Ho West District of the Volta Region has taken a toll on residents' livelihoods and is impacting healthcare delivery.

Sections of the roads are severely damaged, posing significant challenges to motorists and causing the stretch to become deserted, except on Ho market days.

Ashanti Kpoeta benefits from a favourable climate and lush vegetation suitable for cultivating spices and fruits.

It is one of the key suppliers to the country’s food basket, with tons of farm produce transported to market centres nationwide.

Transporting produce to the market centres has become strenuous on the 11-kilometre stretch connecting Ashanti Kpoeta to Kpedze.

Commuters often have to alight from their vehicles at certain sections, carry their goods on their heads, and walk through some parts of the stretch.

“If we don't send our produce to the market, we won't eat at home. So we are begging they should properly construct the road with culverts and drains”, said Abla Asempa, a trader.

The stretch has become a nightmare for commercial drivers, who struggle to ply the route.

“We struggle to climb the mountain because the section at the foot is very bad. This is affecting our business, we spend all day at home because the road is bad”, said Agbesi Atsu, a driver.

“We, the motorcyclists, are often involved in accidents due to the poor condition of the roads. If the government does not intervene, we will be unable to travel out of our community”, said Christian Awafiawo, a commercial motor rider.

This situation has severely affected the livelihoods of residents who depend on selling their farm produce to support their families.

Women are finding it increasingly difficult to support their families through trading due to the poor access roads.

“The state of the roads hampers our trading activities. Our farm produce is stored in the community. Though we need money, we can not transport them to the markets”, said Edem Ametefe, a trader

Eugenia, a resident of Ashanti Kpoeta said “we are pleading with the government, President Mahama; we are begging you to construct our roads. It seems as if we do not belong to Ghana.”

The community’s access to healthcare is effectively at a standstill.

Maternal health is most impacted as pregnant women are forced to travel outside the community for comprehensive ante- and postnatal care.

Healthcare providers are concerned about the potential repercussions of the deteriorating road conditions.

“Our medications are left at Kpedze, and if we are unable to get a vehicle, we cannot bring them to the facility.

Secondly, it is difficult for referred pregnant women to find transport to their referral facilities. The poor condition of the roads heavily affects our operations and discourages transferred staff from reporting to the facility here”, explained Florence Atome, a nurse at Kpoeta CHPS Compound.

Community leaders are worried about the state of the roads, which were first constructed in 1956 and have seen little rehabilitation since 2012.

They have appealed to the government and the Roads Ministry for urgent repairs to the Kpedze-Ashanti Kpoeta access road.

“Predominantly here in Kpoeta, we are NDC people. NDC comes, NDC goes. Nothing comes out of it. President Mahama and our Roads Minister, our own brother Govern Kwame Agbodza, we are pleading with him to come and see our road.”

“The long and short of our call is that we want our route to be fixed because we are also Ghanaians here, period”, said Korsi Agbo, an elder in Ashanti Kpoeta.