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Veep sees firsthand withering vegetation
caused by drought in the Upper West Region
Wa, July 10, Ghanadot/GNA - Usually, they come by air but
this time round, the number two man, Vice President Alhaji
Aliu Mahama came by road on July 5 to the Upper West Region
to have a feel of what it takes to be in the countryside,
have a fair knowledge of problems people face and to hear
from them what they think about the policies and programmes
of the government.
Perhaps, the trip is to test his strength on the rough and
bone-shaking roads as he is gunning to be the presidential
candidate of the NPP in Election 2008.
He came through Kumasi, bypassed Sunyani before linking
Techiman to Bamboi to inspect work on the ongoing
53-kilometre Bole/Bamboi road that links the region to the
southern part of the country.
Vice President Mahama would have been a happy man while on
his way from the south because it has been raining there.
But this writer guesses his heart bled throughout his
five-day official visit to the Upper West Region looking at
the withering vegetation and crops caused by drought in the
three northern regions.
As the number two father of the nation and a farmer, he
would be miserable throughout his tour, one on the failure
of crops to perform and two, the energy situation.
His first experience would be at Bamboi where the Black
Volta showed its depth to His Excellency. There is no water
in the river. Parts of the river have dried up, a sign that
the energy crisis in the country would persist for long.
It is not only the Black Volta that has no water; one of the
tributaries of the White Volta, the Wahabu River, also has
no water. Indeed, all rivers and streams in the Upper West
Region are empty.
Right from Bamboi, one could see from both sides of the road
large tracts of maize withering. The situation is worse in
the some parts of the Upper West Region where some farmers
cannot even go to their farms because all their crops had
withered. Some of them had re-ploughed their crops and
awaiting rain to sow new crops.
There is therefore the likelihood that the people in the
region may experience hunger next year if the rains continue
to fail them.
The new yam and beans are not yet out, a situation never
experienced in the region. The government must get itself
prepared to send food aid to the people if the situation
fails to change.
Some of the communities the Vice President toured included
Bamboi, Bole, Sawla and Tuna in the Northern Region, Wa,
Funsi, Kaleo, Tumu, Gwollu, Suke and Lambussie in the Upper
West Region where traditional rulers had demanded for the
provision of good roads, electricity, potable water and
health facilities.
GNA
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