The paramount chief of the Sirigu Traditional Area in the Kassena Nankana West District of the Upper East Region of Ghana, Naba Atogumdeya Roland Akwara III, has announced a community initiative to raise funds for repairing a broken culvert. This culvert is crucial for connecting Sirigu with neighboring communities and the regional capital, Bolgatanga, via the SWOPA and Sirigu Senior High School Kandiga road.
During a visit from the Word Community Watch show team on January 8, 2025, Naba Akwara III emphasized that the broken culvert, located between the stream connecting Sirigu Senior High School and the Sirigu Women’s Organization for Pottery and Arts (SWOPA), poses a serious risk to the community. He and his subjects are taking proactive steps to address this issue.
Naba Akwara III lamented that the Sirigu-Kandiga road is the only remaining route for the people of Sirigu to access the regional capital for essential social and economic transactions. This follows the collapse of the Sirigu-Zorko bridge, which once connected them to Zorko in the Bongo District and Burkina Faso. Despite previous efforts to repair the bridge, it has remained abandoned.
Highlighting the community’s commitment to development, Naba Akwara III shared that during a general meeting on January 7, 2025, he solicited ideas from his subjects on how to address the broken culvert. They agreed to engage an engineer to assess the situation and provide cost estimates, sharing the financial burden among themselves, as it could take significant time for the new government to respond.
The paramount chief called upon all market women, drinking spot operators, food vendors, shop owners, cement and building material dealers, taxi drivers, and citizens of Sirigu to contribute to this urgent cause.
“We have one culvert broken down, and while the rains have not yet set in, we are able to pass through to Kandiga. However, once the rains start, we would be cut off and forced to take a longer route through Natognia to Navrongo before heading to Bolga,” he explained. “We have decided to raise Gh¢30,000 to repair the broken culvert, with contributions from various community members, including market women, bus terminal operators, and those selling building materials.”
This initiative marks the second time the paramount chief and his subjects have come together to raise funds for repairs along this vital route, following the increased pressure on the Kandiga stretch of road due to the collapse of the Sirigu-Zorko bridge more than two years ago.
Naba Akwara III also appealed to His Excellency John Dramani Mahama, who has recently been sworn into office, to take action on the abandoned Sirigu-Zorko bridge, hoping it will alleviate the community’s struggles and restore the glory of Sirigu and its neighboring communities.
Source: mywordfmonline.com/Gaspard Ayuureneeya. A