In June 2012, the Upper West Akyem District was created out of the vast West Akyem municipality.

The new district, before its creation, lacked social amenities and, with the exception of Adeiso, the capital, Mepong, Abamkrom and Asuokaw, which had few  amenities such as roads and modern school buildings, the rest of the communities and villages such as Obeng Yaw, Asukyerema and Agyirikwa were without those facilities.

What was most disturbing was the bad nature of the roads, which link the communities, making it difficult for the inhabitants, mostly farmers, to cart their produce, mainly cocoa, foodstuffs and oranges, to Asamankese or Adeiso, the main marketing centres in the area.

The new district, under the leadership of the District Chief Executive (DCE), Mr Derek Ohene Assifo Bekoe, therefore, had to come up with a development programme that would ensure that the communities, especially the deprived ones, benefitted from at least one social amenity.

The development programme, which is just one-and-a-half years old, has started yielding good results, with the construction or rehabilitation of a number of schools, feeder roads, markets, mini clinics and modern places of convenience.

All the projects have been funded through internally generated funds, the District Development Fund, the District Assemblies’ Common Fund (DACF) and the MP’s Common Fund.

Three of the social amenities, a six-unit-classroom block for the Kwao Baah Anglican School which hitherto was housed in a dilapidated building constructed in 1936, a footbridge over the Ayensu River at Krodua to link a number of cocoa and foodstuff-producing villages and a modern 10-seater place of convenience at Akyem Breman, have been inaugurated and handed over to the communities.

In his address to the assembly, Mr Bekoe told the assembly members that a well-tailored development plan initiated for the district was on course and that very soon, most of the communities would have their share of the national cake in terms of social amenities and poverty alleviation initiatives.

He was happy that the district which, until its creation, had only two of its road networks, the Mepong Junction-Mamkrong and the Nsawam-Asamankese roads, tarred, now had a number of feeder roads rehabilitated with the assembly’s newly acquired bulldozer.

Some of the roads reconditioned are the five-kilometre Katayensua-Ahinsan road, the five-kilometre Kofi Pare-Fante Hwinan road, as well as the passageways in the Obeng Yaw Electoral Area of Adeiso.

The Obeng Yaw Electoral Area streets, which link the Tsikata, Brukusu and Anchiase communities, stretch for 20 kilometres.

On water and sanitation, a small-scale mechanised water system is being constructed for Abamkrom, while 60 per cent of work on 300 kilometres of drains at Adeiso has been completed.

Desilting of the main storm drains (Oku River) at Adeiso is also underway to prevent flooding, one of the challenges in the town during the rainy season.

With regard to schools, the assembly has put up a three-unit classroom block for the Adeiso Islamic JSS, while work on another six-unit classroom block with other facilities at Asuotwene and a similar facility comprising three classrooms at Damang are at different stages of completion.

The district has also been allocated a senior high school under the Presidential Initiative on SHS for which the sod had already been cut for its construction, which is expected to begin in one of the communities.

On health, a clinic is being built at Danso while the Adeiso Clinic has been upgraded to a district hospital.

Marketing centres have also been on the priority list of the assembly which has so far rehabilitated the Adeiso Market while five new satellite selling outlets will be constructed in other communities such as Krobo Nkwanta, Mame Dede Junction, Adeiso Kwasea Dwaaso, Asuokaw and Mepom this year.

“The assembly has done a lot and with the support of the Member of Parliament (MP), Mr Joseph Amankwanor, our deprived district will soon be transformed as one of the best in the Eastern Region”, the DCE stated.

Although the people, especially the traditional rulers such as Naa Obuma II, Queen of Kwao Baah, Nana Okore II of Akyem Breman and Nana Karikari, Nkosuohene of Krodua expressed their appreciation to the assembly for providing their communities with social amenities, a lot more remained to be done.

However, the total development of the area will be achieved with the completion of the rehabilitation of the deplorable Nsawam-Adeiso-Asamakese Highway, the main artery currently ongoing but at a snail pace.

graphic.com.gh