…As Assembly Neglects Them Because of Allegiance To Asantehene
From Isaac Adu, Offuman, Brong Ahafo
The simple decision by the ancestors of Offuman in the Techiman Municipality in Brong Ahafo Region to owe allegiance to the Asantehene has placed untold hardship to residents, as the assembly has decided not offer any development hand to the town.
For the past 34 years, the people of Offuman drink water from a stream where pigs, goats and cattle drink, while the Techiman Municipal Assembly looks on unconcerned.
The town, which is less than 15 kilometers away from the municipal capital and a hub of garden eggs production in the region, is now a pale shadow of itself in terms of development, particularly the non-availability of good water services.
A water pump station built in 1977 by the erstwhile Acheampong regime to alleviate the water crisis in the area has been abandoned for no apparent reason.
It is interesting to note, however, that, as the townsfolk and some adjoining communities accept the challenge with the hope that powers that be would act expeditiously to forestall any agitation, the situation continues to aggravate.
When The Enquirer visited Offuman last Thursday to catch a physical glimpse of that hardship, some residents were seen defecating along a stream which serves as the only drinking source. Pigs, cattle and goats also share the same stream with the indigenes.
Town roads are very muddy and are always rendered impassable as some lead to Wenchi and Kintampo but there seems not to be any conscious effort by the municipal authority to rectify that anomaly.
One striking situation is the conversion of a middle school block in the town to a senior high school, which majors in Agriculture.
The school established in 1991 and named as Effah Guakro Senior High School, with a student population of 620, is in a sorry state, as teachers refuse postings to the area due to the non-availability of residential accommodation and some amenities in the community.
Some of the students attend lectures under trees, while others also study at the same classroom through a shift system.
A dilapidated structure built in 1991 as the place of convenience had collapsed thus forcing the students to use a colonial fenced pit latrine. Others also defecate indiscriminately on the campus.
According to the headmaster, seven national service personnel have been turned off, based on the accommodation problem.
Checks by the paper revealed that the headmaster, Mr. Joseph Samyelah Ali, is the only headmaster, among the over 55 government assisted senior high schools, without accommodation
Health centre at the town is nothing to write home about, as the principal midwife in charge, Augustina Abugri, stated that the facility is understaffed and ill- resourced.
She disclosed that due to the unhygienic nature of the area, 1,323 cases of malaria were recorded in the last quarter.
The 15- kilometer stretch of road is also in a deplorable state and due to its muddy nature as a result of an early morning rain, this reporter nearly got stuck midway.
Classical evidence was recorded when on the way back, a KIA truck with registration number AS 2365 Y, loaded with timber logs, was seen trapped on the muddy road.
Conscious of the problem, some of the residents interviewed swore to boycott any national election, including the 2012 general elections, if the multi-faceted problem confronting them is not urgently addressed.
Some of the townsfolk who spoke on condition of anonymity also blamed the situation on the Techiman Traditional Council for being the mastermind of the downward turn in development.
They claim due to Offuman’s allegiance to the Ashanti Kingdom, the Techiman Traditional Council and the municipal authority have glossed over the need for them to have their share of the national kitty.
Nana Asiedu Dwamena, the paramount chief of the Offuman traditional area, has also expressed deep worry over the drawback in development.
To this end, he has appealed to government to as a matter of urgency attend to the multi-faceted problem confronting his subject.
Nana Dwamena quickly added that a seven-member development committee will soon be inaugurated to work out an alternative solution to the problem.
According to Samuel Djan, assemblymember for the Ntoase electoral area at Offuman, successive governments have paid lip-service to the plight of the people.
He therefore implored government to honour its promise of tarring roads in the area in order to ensure that perishable crops, such as garden eggs and tomatoes, which are produced in the area, are always sent to the market on time.
