Story: Benjamin Xornam Glover, Kulungungu
Commercial and business activities along the Kulungungu border has slowed down due to a deterioration of portions of the Missiga to Kulungungu road as a result of recent torrential rains experienced in parts of the Upper East Region.
Work on culverts on portions of the road, a major international highway has virtually come to a halt and diversions used by drivers have become muddy and impassable due to recent torrential rains.
Haulage trucks conveying transit goods to the Sahalian neighbouring countries such as Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger as well as commercial vehicles from Bawku and Kulungungu get stuck in mud as the road have been rendered impassable.
A visit to the area on Saturday revealed that the gravel street was wet and muddy. Heavy articulated trucks conveying transit goods to neighbouring Sahalian countries where either stuck in the mud while others have overturned spilling their goods onto the roads.
Commercial vehicles carrying passengers from Bawku to Kulungungu and vice versa, have to off load their passengers at when end while the passengers trek to the other end to join other busses to continue their journey.
Mr. Kenneth Dzimega, Senior Inspector of Ghana Immigration Service at the Kulungungu Border said business activities at the area are gradually coming to a halt due to the deplorable nature of a road.
He said as a result, people are resorting to alternatives by taking unapproved routes other than this the legally designated routes. He added that the situation is also having a toll of people in the community as food prices keeping souring because most of the food stuffs come from across the border.
Mr. Dzimega added that haulage drivers entering and exiting the country as well as commercial vehicles plying the Bawku-Kulungungu road often break down as a result of the problems caused by the poor roads.
For his part, a Senior Collector of the Ghana Revenue Authority, Customs Division, Mr. Stephen Borbor said the bad state of the road would likely lead to a decrease in taxation revenue the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA).
Some road users told the Daily Graphic that the Bawku Municipal Assembly charges each truck carrying onions into the area an amount of GH c 35.00 and therefore called on the assembly to carry out routine maintenance works and grading to make the road passable especially during this raining season.
Responding to concerns of users of the stretch of road, the Bawku Municipal Chief Executive, Mr. Musah Abdulai said to solve some of challenges facing the driving public; the road has been awarded to a new contractor who is currently on site.
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