INDIGENES OF WR DISSATISFIED WITH PACE OF DEVELOPMENT (PAGE 20)

INDIGENES of the Western Region feel neglected in terms of infrastructural development
They have expressed their regret that in spite of the tremendous contributions and sacrifices they have made towards national development, the region was virtually under developed.
The region accounts for 100 per cent of the rubber, bauxite and manganese produced in the country, while contributing about 60 per cent of gold production and about 57 per cent of cocoa.
The region is currently the leading producer of gold, while crude oil has been discovered in commercial quantities in the region recently.
It is against this backdrop that for the past three years, the Western Regional Co-ordinating Council (RCC) has been organising meet-the-press series to inform residents of the region and Ghanaians as a whole about the efforts being made to promote the development agenda of the region for the overall well-being of the inhabitants.
This year’s meet the press highlighted some of the achievements made pertaining to infrastructural development, since one of the major concerns of the people of the region is the state of the roads and the road network.
The total length of trunk roads in the region as of 2005 was 1,402 kilometres, representing 11 per cent of the national total length of trunk roads.
Out of the figure, 738 kilometres are tarred with 43.6 per cent in good condition, 18.6 per cent in fair condition, while the remaining 37.9 per cent is in poor condition. The remaining 665 kilometres has gravel surface.
The roads are being constantly maintained by the Ghana Highway Authority (GHA) to make them motorable.
Since last year, a number of roads have been completed, while others are ongoing. Some of the completed roads are the 20-kilometre Mpataba-Half Assini road which was completed at a cost of GH¢6,881.00, the upgrading of the 7.9 kilometre Princess Town-Addedum Number One-Axim Junction-Elubo road completed at a cost of GH¢10,000.15 and the five-kilometre Teleku-Bokazo-Aniben Junction road, which was completed at a cost of GH¢8,473.00.
The ongoing road projects include the 4.9 kilometre Ataneata Junction-Huni Valley road being constructed at an estimated cost of GH¢7,373.74, the 10 kilometre Oseikojokrom-Benchima road which will cost GH¢13,198.27, the six-kilometre Sefwi Bekwai by Pass-Addendum Number One and Two roads estimated at GH¢10,383.64 and the five-kilometre Sefwi Wiawso-Akontombra road that would cost GH¢13,045
The total length of feeder roads identified in the region as of 2006 was 5,818.6 kilometres. Out of this, 3,011.6 kilometres are engineered, while 418.4 kilometres are partially engineered and the remaining 2,388.6 kilometres are unengineered.
Out of that stretch of roads, only 86.8 kilometres has bitumen surface, which represents 1.49 per cent.
From October to date, the Department of Feeder Roads has been undertaking a number of projects towards the improvement of feeder roads in the region.
About 43 of such feeder road projects have been undertaken. Most of the projects have been completed, while work on others are in progress with others terminated for poor work or delay of their projects.
On the agricultural sector of the region, about 233 agricultural extension agents (AEAs) have been deployed to carry out daily farm visits to interact with farmers in order to offer the necessary guidance and advice.
To ensure the attainment of the desired results, the staff of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA) have been given training in crops and livestock, planning, monitoring and evaluation.
Consequently, more than 90 per cent of the staff are practising improved technology by way of demonstration, with 643 of such demonstrations set up by the AEAs in crops, livestock, food and nutrition.
Besides, 14,972 farmers in the region have been sensitised to HIV/AIDS, while more than 12,843 farmers have been trained in various agricultural topics in crops, livestock and non-traditional activities such as grass-cutter production and marketing.
In all, about 62 per cent of the farmers have been provided with new ideas and those technologies are being used in their farming activities.
Touching on the cocoa hi-tech, Since the introduction of the cocoa high technology (hi-tech) fertiliser to farmers, the government has put in a lot of efforts to increase cocoa production and that has paid off very well in the Western Region.
More than 80,000 cocoa farmers from the cocoa growing districts received 127,030 and 733,840 bags of Asaase Wura cocoa fertilisers for 2006 and 2007, respectively to fertilise 158,730 hectares of cocoa farms.
As regards mass spraying, 1,978 spraying gangs have so far been formed to carry out the exercise in the region.
Concerning coconut production in the region, about 800 hectares out of the 3,000 hectares of land devastated by coconut disease have been rehabilitated and another 1,200 hectares of aged coconut trees were fertilised in the Nzema East and Jomoro Districts.
Coconut yields have, therefore, increased from an average of 72 nuts to 120 nuts per tree per year and had given employment to more than 2,000 coconut farmers and processors.
Speaking at the meet the press, the Western Regional Minister, Mr A.E. Amoah, said the government was committed to the improvement of the road network in order to open up the hinterland for rapid socio-economic development.
He said the region’s total access to potable water was about 37.2 per cent as against the national average of 24.9 per cent .
Comparatively, Mr Amoah said, access to potable water was not much of a problem in the urban areas, adding that currently pipe-borne water was available in 17 districts in the region.
Mr Amoah said the percentage of coverage of potable water in the region was expected to increase from 37.2 to 41 by the end of this year.
Touching on electricity, the regional minister stated that the coverage of electricity in the region was not as one expected.
As of December, 2006, only a little over 40 per cent of the region had been connected to the national electricity grid.
He said a total of 53 major and minor electricity projects had been undertaken in towns and villages in the region with most of them being completed while others were going on.
The regional minister, however, noted with concern that some of the power projects were at a standstill.