An impending acute food shortage would hit the Krobo State, which is made up of the Yilo, Lower Municipality and Upper Manya Krobo Districts of the Eastern Region, following a decision by drivers plying the areas to stop work.

The action of the drivers follows the deteriorated state of the roads in the areas, which is gradually bringing about a state of food insecurity, since there are no vehicles to cart foodstuffs produced by the poor peasant farmers from the farm gates to the available markets, leaving them to rot.

Consequently, prices of foodstuffs from Upper Manya to the Agormanya market in the Lower Manya municipality have increased considerably in recent times, since the few drivers who have decided to work on humanitarian grounds charge way above what they normally do.

Speaking to the Eastern File, the Director of Communications of Klo Hengme, a non-profit pressure group in the area, Mr. Ike Otu Tamatey said the daily outcry and incessant appeals by the Krobo citizenry to the government to as a matter of urgency attend to the deteriorated roads have fallen on death ears.

"As we speak now, all our roads have deteriorated, it is difficult going out and it is unattractive to drive vehicles," he retorted.

He continued that in Yilo-Krobo, for instance, the only major road network which is Tlom Junction to the Somanya Intersection (popularly known as 'Somanya Roundabout'), to Sawer, has become a death trap, with lots of accidents being recorded every day.

The Klo Hengme Director of Communications averred that the main road from Atua through Odumase to Agormanya and Kpong are riddled with gaping potholes, resulting in accidents, as drivers drive dangerously to avoid these potholes, and sometimes use the opposite lane.

With Upper Manya-Krobo, he said, the little one talks about it the better, as the state of the major roads is simply sorrowful.

He described roads such as the one from Asitey to Oterkpolu and Otrokper to Asesewa as terrible and worrying.

Other roads in Upper Manya Krobo which have not been attended to since the colonial days (over 56 years now) and have now been rendered impassable are the Asesewa- Kokoney road, the Akatawia- Sekesua road, the 1-kilometre Asesewa-Odometa road, the 21-kilometre Asesewa-Bisa road, and the 7-kilometre Bisa junction-Aframase road.

All these are major roads link the farming areas to the commercial towns of Asesewa, Agormanya, Akateng and Nkurakan.

The Krobo State, which is regarded as the "food basket" of the entire Krobo area and the Eastern Region in general, is gradually losing its status because of the umotorable nature of the roads.

According to Mr. Tamatey: "It is heartbreaking that our drivers continue to pay road tolls and waybills on such dehumanising roads," and "Since all appeals to our leaders have fallen on deaf ears, there is the need to embark on a more 'aggressive method' as a way of communicating to them."