Residents protest against road construction

Residents of Nyohini in northern municipality of Tamale in Ghana have threatened to block road works being undertaken in the area by British Taysec Construction Limited.

In a petition issued on Tuesday, the youth of Nyohini said within two years, more than 30 people have been killed due to the bad nature of the road from Nyohini to Business Secondary School (BISCO), which they blamed on the road project.

The petition, signed by the co-ordinator of the youth association, Mr. Abukari Jabani, said the dusty nature of the road has also caused a lot of respiratory diseases among the residents. Taysec is engaged in the construction of the main roads in the Tamale Municipality.

The petition said Taysec was initially contracted to construct the road from the centre of the municipality up to the junction of BISCO but information reaching the youth indicated that the company had reviewed its plans and now intends to terminate work at the offices of the Ghana Highway Authority (GHA) at Nyohini. It said when the residents met with the Chief Engineer of the GHA to register their protest, he told them that the decision to review the project was as a result of an order from above, with which Taysec is complying.

The residents said in view of the current situation, they have decided to demonstrate and block the road until the original plan is executed to save them from road accidents and to minimise the incidence of respiratory diseases in the area.