Zanlerigu residents demand rehabilitation of roads

Residents of Zanlerigu community and its environs in the Nabdam District have expressed disappointment at government’s inability to rehabilitate the roads linking the various communities to the Zanlerigu Market leading to post-harvest losses.

They lamented that the feeder roads, which linked the farming communities to the Market, were in a terrible state, preventing farmers from transporting their produce, especially perishable goods like tomatoes, resulting in post-harvest losses.

They expressed these frustrations at a press conference, organized by the Zanlerigu Langube Development Association (ZALDA), a community based organization of smallholder farmers in Zanlerigu and supported by the Business Sector Advocacy Challenge (BUSAC) Fund.

Mr Maxwell Divom, the Secretary of ZALDA, said Gundogu, Barichi, Zubolog, Woredaa, Dalga and Gaage were the most affected communities, adding that they had recorded huge post-harvest losses over the years, because of the deplorable nature of the roads.

“The impact of these perennial losses on us as farmers, on our families and on our community at large is beyond what words can describe. The damage being done to goods and services, as vehicles get stuck in the muddy portions of the roads, particularly in the rainy season is unquantifiable.”

According to the Secretary “The amount of money and revenue being lost to individuals and government on daily basis as a result of the appalling nature of the roads is equally unimaginable. This is because the Zanlerigu Market is so integral to trading activities that it also attracts traders from far away communities like Bolgatanga, Kayonga, Kpali, Kpatia, Kongo, Nangodi, Pelungu and Zuarungu”.

He explained that between 2011 and 2012, as a result of an advocacy action ZALDA undertook, which was supported by the BUSAC Fund, the then Talensi-Nabdam District Assembly constructed the Zanlerigu Irrigation Dam to ensure all year round agricultural activities in the area, however, due to the bad nature of the roads, farmers did not get any benefits from the project, as accessing the market became difficult.

Mr Divom stated, “our pain as ZALDA has become so unbearable that we wish to use this platform to demand immediate attention from the Nabdam District Assembly and the Department of Feeder Roads to ensure that the roads are not just fixed but also done with quality that will stand the test of time”

The Secretary disclosed that ZALDA in collaboration with BUSAC Fund and its partners including the DANIDA, USAID and the European Union were undertaking an advocacy action campaign to have the roads rehabilitated and would not relent on their efforts to have the roads fixed.

“We wish to state that the construction of the feeder roads and culverts will bring enormous benefits to the Nabdam District Assembly, farmers and traders in the area and beyond. Among others it will increase the revenue base of the District Assembly, create additional employment opportunities, increase income levels of farmers and traders and expand the Zanlerigu market,” he added.

Mr Walla Dag-bama, the Assemblyman for the Zanlerigu-Dalga Electoral Area, explained that the situation had not affected only farming activities in the area, but had further adversely affected education and health care as school children and pregnant women found it difficult to ply the deplorable roads.

The Assemblyman, who doubles as the Presiding Member for the Nabdam District Assembly clarified that the action was not directed at the Asonge-Zanlerigu-Sakote road, which was already being awarded on contract, but the feeder roads that linked the various communities to the Zanlerigu market, schools and health centres.