Chiefs of Kenyasi, Ntortroso, and their assembly members in the Asutifi North district of the Ahafo Region have said they may not be able to restrain the youth from demonstrating over stalled road projects in the mining town. 

They said the bad and dusty nature of the roads which connect to other districts and towns, has led to the loss of lives and affected the livelihoods of people as businesses fold up.

At a joint press conference, the Chiefs of Kenyasi No1, Kenyasi No2, Ntortroso, and their assembly members said the continued delay in the contractor resuming work on the 11.5km roads has resulted in many agitations and planned demonstrations by the youth.

Chief of Kenyasi, Nana Osei Kofi Abiri II, revealed how they pleaded with the government to construct their deplorable roads which do not befit a community that generates a lot of revenue through the activities of Newmont Ghana Gold Limited.

“Government heeded to our pleas with Kofi Job Construction working day and night on the roads, especially during the campaign tour of President Nana Akufo-Addo to the district, but work halted and machines packed away from the site after the elections,” he said.

He echoed the frustration residents, transporters, and business operators have had to bear due to the volume of dust from the roads, with the accompanying health implications.

“We managed to talk the youth out of their planned demonstrations with a promise to continue engaging the government to complete the projects,” he said, but asked, “how long can we ask them to exercise patience?”

Nana Abiri II appealed to the government to complete the abandoned work to calm the youth and restore life to normalcy in the mining communities.

The chief of Ntotroso, Berima Twereku Ampem, on his part wondered why their roads and the Tano bridge are in such a deplorable state despite the huge revenue from the mining giant, Newmont Ghana.

“We are reminding the President of the promise made to us last year that the road construction was not to win our votes and also to respectfully appeal to him to see to it that the contractor returns to the site,” he said.

A visit to Kenyasi township revealed most businesses have closed, and houses along the roads are covered in the dust. 

One of them is the new palace of the Queen mother of Kenyasi, Nana Yaa Adutwumwaa Moronsa, which has been abandoned, due to the dust from the road that connects Kenyasi to Hwidiem, district capitals in Asutifi North and South.

“The Palace is completed, but we can’t occupy it because every corner and surface of the palace is heavily covered by dust. We have been enduring this situation since the contractor started work for over a year now, hoping it will end when completed. But here we are with the contractor no longer on-site”, she bemoaned.

She also said it is frustrating to have Newmont Ghana mining on their cocoa lands with a lot of revenue to the State but saddled with bad and dusty roads affecting their health and businesses, while others in the cities enjoy better roads.

“If the revenue in the national coffers can’t help us, then Newmont Ghana should use part of the revenue to fix the roads for us,” she appealed to the government.

Meanwhile, Assembly Member for Dormaa electoral area, Ibrahim Issifu, alleges Kofi Job Constructions abandoned the project due to no payment. 

“The contractor told us he has run out of money as the government has not paid him since he started work, the reason he is no longer on-site,” he alleged. 

He also appealed to the government to help complete the road network, to enable them to leave a normal life.