Sirigu: Chief to lead demonstration over neglected hell-gate bridge

Sirigu, a town in the Kasena Nankana West District in the Upper East Region is on August 19, 2023, embarking on an unusual communal labour, following years of neglect by their elected leaders. The community has following years of neglect and countless self-help initiatives to fix their deadly roads without success decided to protest.

What is unusual about this protest is that the demonstration will be led by the Paramount Chief of the Sirigu Traditional Area and all his divisional chiefs; a sign of the frustrations the leader has suffered as he watched helplessly while numerous lives go down as a result of the bad roads.

Tagged, “SAVE A LIFE DEMONSTRATION”, the protest is led by the overlord of the Sirigu Traditional Area, the divisional chiefs and the queen mothers of the community. The exercise according to information in a flyer promoting it will involve the Zorko community, a neighbour of Sirigu on its southern border. The bridge sits directly on the border between the two communities, thus an interest of both sides.

According to sources close to the organizers of the event, the demonstration is primarily centred on the main road linking Sirigu town and other adjoining towns to the regional capital through Zorkor in the Bongo District. The bridge which is the primary route for the transport of people and goods in and out of the community has become a major threat to the community’s progress in recent years.

A flyer which is designed to promote the exercise has the following messages: “The people of Sirigu and its environs have suffered severe damage including loss of lives due to the deplorable road networks and the collapsed bridge on the Sirigu -Zorko road in September 2020. Economic activities have been greatly
affected as trucks and cars cannot pass with foodstuff and other commodities. Several appeals to the relevant key authorities to get the bridge fixed have fallen on deaf ears.

“As a result, there would be a peaceful demonstration dubbed, ‘SAVE A LIFE DEMONSTRATION’ to draw government attention and action.’ This would be led by the Paramount Chief of the Sirigu Traditional Area (AZUKODAANA), His Divisional Chiefs, Queen mothers, Youth and the entire community members of Sirigu and neighbouring Zorko.

“EVERY LIVE MATTERS, GET THE BRIDGE/BAD ROADS FIX NOW!”

Hell’s gate or bridge connecting Sirigu to Bolga?

A manhole at the centre of the bridge, which is constructed over the confluence of two large rivers, has made it impossible for commercial vehicles to use the road in the last two to three years. The matter got out of hand when the space expanded making it even impossible for a tricycle to pass. That has effectively cut off Sirigu, Yua, Natugnia, Manyoro and their western neighbours from Bolgatang through the main road. Travelling from those places to Bolga now has to be done through Kandiga where they will connect on the N5 Highway connecting Bolga to Navrongo.

As a result, travel time has increased and made it even dire when they have to transport emergency cases from the Martyrs of Uganda Health Centre in Sirigu to the Regional Hospital. The only other viable exit which accounts for more travel time is not even safe as a bridge over the road Abagne, a suburb of the community that has been deteriorating over the past 10 years without authorities making any efforts to fix it. That bridge serves as the second most dangerous spot in the community and has claimed its fair share of accidents over the years. The bridge has no rails thus exposing users to the possibility of falling off into the rocky bottoms of the river.

Self-help initiatives

Over the years, the community has made efforts to fix what they can fix on their while seeking assistance from the District authorities to get the bridges permanently fixed. In 2021, the community led by their leader, Naba Roland Atogumdeya Akwara III, raised funds and fixed a culvert that had broken down near one of the bridges on the Sirigu-Kandiga road which is the only exit from the community to Bolgatanga after the Sirigu-Zorkor road. He said at the time that he had followed up with authorities from the district to the national level but all he was told is there is no money.

Two years later, several businesses have collapsed or weakened as a result of the cut-off, many lives have been lost and several more have been ruined following accidents that occurred over those two bridges.

What is pushing the community to decide to use protest to send their message to the authorities following years of failed pleas and negotiations is the looming disasters the broken bridges present. Now more than ever, disaster stares at them more aggressively as three of the four major bridges in the community have become more of a passage to eternity than to connecting communities.

Bizarrely, Sirigu has the biggest market in the entire district and is home to some of the top non-governmental organizations that are transforming the entire district and other neighbouring districts such as Kasena Nankana West and Bongo. Economic activities have been slowing down in the town due to the difficulties moving goods from areas such as Bolga, Navrong and southern Ghana to the town.