Tsawoe footbridge is a death-trap for pupils

Tsawoe footbridge at Bokorvikofe in the Ho West District has claimed the lives of four pupils over the past four years.

They slipped through the wooden bridge and died while crossing the Tsawoe stream on their way to school.

Two other pupils and a young man developed serious physical defects after falling through the bridge which is about 12 feet tall.

Mr Hope Anagonu, Assemblyman for the area has said a large number of children of school going age at Dakekorfe and Andokorfe on the other side of the bridge, are not going to school due to the life threatening nature of the bridge.

“It is very challenging. We have beautiful classrooms but parents will not allow their children to risk crossing the bridge to school,” he said.

Mr Anagonu said conveying the sick and pregnant women across the bridge to access healthcare at Tsito was another great worry and prayed for quick intervention from government.

Mr Sitsofe Frederick Ekor, Headmaster of Bokorvokorfe Basic School, said due to the nature of the footbridge, school children on the other side of the bridge remained at home whenever it rained.

Mr Emmanuel Bedzra, the Member of Parliament for Ho West, said the reconstruction of the Tsawoe Bridge, construction of access roads and the connection of the area to the national electricity grid were priority projects earmarked for the community.