The Sekondi-Takoradi Police on Tuesday used tear gas to disperse angry artisans who blocked some roads while demonstrating against the deplorable nature of the roads at Kokompe, where they work.
Members of the Kokompe Garages Association, wearing red bands and singing war songs staged a five-hour demonstration from their area to the central business area of Takoradi.
They burnt car tyres and blocked the beach road at Takoradi, preventing motorists and other road users from plying the road, thus forcing motorists to divert their routes.
The painful sensation of the tear-gas affected a cluster of schools and businesses along the beach road leading to the closure of the schools and businesses.
Before the incident, the Metropolitan Chief Executive of Sekondi-Takoradi, Captain (RTD) Anthony Cudjoe, went to the scene to calm tempers but the demonstrators attempted to heckle him before he was whisked away by the police.
One of the demonstrators, Mr. Christopher Awumee, told the GNA that, politicians had been promising them during electioneering campaigns to repair the roads yet they failed to honour their promises after they had won power.
Efforts to reach the Metropolitan Chief Executive and the Public Relations Office proved futile.**
