The youth in Sherigu Abotesugere in the Bolgatanga municipality of the Upper East Region have threatened not to participate in the upcoming 2024 parliamentary and presidential elections, should the state fail to connect their communities to the national grid.
“Mr. Chairman, as we said it last year in our press release, we will not partake in the upcoming (2024) election if we are not connected to the national grid”.
Addressing the media during the first edition of the Sherigu-Kumbligo-Abotesugere youth Festival at Sherigu, Secretary to the association, Mr. Peter Akolbila Atambila lamented that communities in the area are suffering because of the non existence of electricity in the electoral area.
Due to no electricity and coupled with lack of feeder roads and culverts in the communities, women have to travel to far distances to grind their flour before they can prepare food. People are also unable recharge their Mobil phones.
He likened the situation to that of a typical Ghanaian worker without salary who only workes tirelessly and pays his taxes without benefits.
The situation becomes worse during the rainy season where the communities are cut off from the Bolgatanga municipality, making it difficult for dwellers to access health care, education, and many other basic social amenities.
“Electricity is one of the social amenities essential for growth and development. In this digitalized Ghana, a community without light is like a salary worker without a pay. How can this worker survive with the family? This is the same shoe in which Sherigu Kumbilengo electoral area finds itself in. This electoral area is part of the Bolgatanga municipality”.
Mr. Peter added that, the community has been battling with some worrying developmental issues such as bridges and dams, as well as general poor road network, while they pay taxes and voted for over two decades now. For him, they have being denied their share of the national cake.
They therefore appealed to government ,civil society organisations, and philanthropists to come to their aid.
Parliamentary candidate for the New Patriotic Party in the Bolgatanga Centre constituency, Mr Elvis Atia Awunekai, noted he has been to Accra with a contractor to the ministry of energy to get some materials for the contractor, but expressed his surprise that the project has been stalled. He assured the youth that the government would soon connect the community to the national grid as he pleaded with the community to rather vote for the New Patriotic Party come December.
Mr. Peter Gbenwaa, the parliamentary candidate for the Peoples National Convention (PNC), for the Bolgatanga Centre Constituency told the youth to vote for him as member of Parliament because the NDC and NPP has failed the constituency.
Source:mywordfmonline.com/Gaspard Ayuureneeya