GBEWAA YOUTH REHABILITATE AREA ROADS (PAGE 23, OCT 4, 2010)

THE heavy downpours that have characterised this year’s raining season have left many roads linking most district capitals and communities in the Northern Region in poor shape.
Many of the roads have been rendered unusable as they have been reduced to potholes, rocks and large gutters filled with muddy water.
In Tamale, some of the untarred roads which have been damaged by the rains can be found in Kukuo, Koblimahagu, Wurishe, Gumani, Bulpela, Gbewa and some peri-urban communities.
In most of these communities, the residents are awaiting authorisation by the assembly before rehabilitating these damaged roads.
However, the youth of Gbewa, one of the emerging suburbs of Tamale, near Kukuo, say they cannot continue to wait on the assembly, while the roads further deteriorate.
According to them, the damaged roads and gutters were impeding movement in and around the community.
They also noted that the rainwater had collected in choked gutters and potholes, resulting in floods and the breeding of mosquitoes.
Last weekend, about 30 of them came together to do some stop gap repair works on the damaged roads in the vicinity.
With a few shovels, hoes and cutlasses, the exuberant young men cleared some of the gutters that had been choked with silt, thereby allowing the water that had been trapped to run freely.
They also sealed potholes and cleared the weeds that had grown along the sides of some of the streets. This led to the recovery of portions of the road that had been consumed by weedy grass.
Although most of the youth in the area do not use cars, they told the Daily Graphic that their desire was to keep their area roads in good shape in order to facilitate the movement of residents and visitors.
One of the leaders, Abdul Sadiq, commended the communal spirit exhibited by the youth in the area, and described it as very rare.
He said in the past, it was a common phenomenon to see community members being mobilise to undertake some activities in the interest of the community.
“This phenomenon is, however, fast declining in modern Ghana, particularly due to the increasing urbanisation of various towns”, he stated.
Mr Sadiq, however, entreated the Tamale Metropolitan Assembly to endeavour to repair the damaged roads, since the efforts of the youth could not sustain the condition of the roads.