A group of residents in the Wa East District identified as the South Sissala Unity for Development has bemoaned the absence of critical staff in the district including the District Chief Executive (DCE), which they believe is affecting the growth of the district.
According to the group, after two decades of establishing the Wa East District, the offices of the Ghana Education Service and the Department of Agriculture are still operating outside the district. This has led the staff to abandon their official bungalows and offices, making it difficult for residents to access their services when needed.
At a press conference last Friday, April 26, 2024, a leading member of the group, Tuduro Jakeri Alex alleged that “top government officials left their residences and staying in the Wa Municipality.” He added that, staff of most of the offices do not come to the district and rather work from the regional capital despite the availability of office space in the district. He declared that “Wa East is not subset of Wa Municipal” such that the offices of the district should be located there.
The group issued an ultimatum for the offices and the staff to relocate to the district by close of June or face their positive resistance. They charged the DCE, the Member of Parliament, and all who matter to ensure the abandoned offices and projects in the district are given a positive response.
As a district with about 90% of the population into farming, the group expressed disappointment that agricultural officers are not always in the district. They said “the Agric office has been occupied by [the] Youth Employment Agency (YEA) and the National Identification Authority (NIA) officials,” thus, questioned the whereabout of the Agric officers.
The group further alleged that “the Wa East District GES is located at Wa Konta”, making the staff to abandon the GES office to only the security man.
Highlighting the importance of agriculture and education, they described the situation as very worrying given that the district was created in 2004.
Like the offices of the GES and agriculture, the official bungalows of the DCE and the District Coordinating Director have also been left to the mercy of the weather as both top officials are staying away from the district. As a result, they come to office as and when they want, thus affecting productivity.
The group stated that the DCE, Dr. Mahama Ewurah Kandie, has never stayed in the official residence ever since he was appointed about three years ago, further alleging that he failed to come to the Assembly for the entire month of April 2024.
Other challenges
The group also enumerated a myriad of other challenges including the absence of befitting dining hall and girls’ dormitory for students of Funsi Senior High School.
Poor roads are hindering economic activities in the district, the group said. It described the roads linking most of the major communities in the district “as animal farm roads”, which prevent farmers from accessing their farms during the rains, thus, affecting agricultural productivity.
The group decried the stalling of a Social Cohesion (SOCO) road project in the district capital, Funsi. “The uncompleted road has turned to be a dead pit causing accidents and flooding” in the town.
Lack of hospital facilities and basic consumables have also been identified as a major challenge in the delivery of healthcare in the district. “Our clinics face dire shortages, with no delivery beds available for expectant mothers,” it said, revealing that a pregnant woman under pain was forced to lie “on a wretched long chair” at the Nyimbanduu clinic due to lack of delivery bed. Lack of functional fire tender for the Fire Service personnel in the district also leave the people vulnerable in times of emergencies. The group disclosed that the Fire Service could not fight fire outbreaks that occurred in the area which caused havoc, including the burning of the District Assembly’s guesthouse.
Filed by: Hafiz Timbile
