A simple mobile phone call is considered a luxury in the Logba Klikpo community in the Afadzato South of the Volta Region due to severe telecommunications issues.

Residents in the mountainous community struggle for good spots to make calls to connect with their families, friends, or business partners.

Their lack of access to telecommunication services has taken the community back to the Stone Age and hindered socioeconomic growth in the area.

Logba Klikpo is one of the rural communities in the Afadzato South District of the Volta Region, where the local economy relies on agriculture.

However, the community buried in the mountains of the Logba area is cut off from the digital world due to telecommunications connectivity challenges.

Unlike in urban and some rural areas, where subscribers can make calls and access the internet anywhere, anytime, residents of Logba Klikpo have to move to specific spots to access telecommunication services. With this, they are not assured of good connectivity all the time.

Residents are unhappy with this development, which is gradually crippling their farming trade and affecting their livelihoods.

“We have been suffering network challenges for some time now here in Logba Klikpo. Our phones are of no use to us in the community since we can’t make or receive calls. We keep losing our customers, the traders we sell our farm produce to because of these network issues,” lamented a resident, Kofi Odikro.

“I came here for a programme and have since struggled to get a network to call my people in Logba Tota. This is a terrible situation here in Klikpo, as the residents are really suffering,” said Kofi Adzololo, a visitor.

The hopes of residents for the mini telephony mast promising connectivity in the area were dashed when the facility was left incomplete.

Standing in the North East part of the community lies the mast, which was expected to boost network connectivity after completion.

“They have done some installations on the mast but they’re yet to connect it. So, we are appealing to the government to facilitate work on it. We are hoping for the best,” said Edem Sase, a resident.

Traditional authorities are unhappy with the severe telecommunication challenges in the Logba enclave, as they cannot access phone call services nor the internet.

The Paramount Chief of Logba, Togbega Dabrah VI, said the situation has persisted for a long time, thereby affecting the economic development of his area.

He stated that residents are cut off from the outside, “living in darkness” as they cannot access information about happenings elsewhere nor connect with loved ones or partners.

“If you want to make a call you have to travel outside the community before you can access network services. Some have to climb trees in search of a network to make calls.”

Togbega Dabrah VI likened their situation to that of the “Stone Age,” where people had to travel just to send messages to those outside their communities.

“This is really hampering development. We want the authorities to help us resolve this challenge. Because these days, we are in a digital era, and if you have your mobile phone with you, you have the whole world at your fingertips. But if you don’t have a connection, how do you do business with somebody in Accra?” he said.

Residents in the Logba enclave are hopeful their calls for better network connectivity will be addressed in the shortest possible time.