Oodweyne residents reject president Bihi’s claim of constructed new road in the region

Somaliland residents of Oodweyne have denied claims of a road construction being underway in their region in contrast to a statement by Somaliland President on his state of the nation address on Monday.

The president had announced that his administration started the construction of a new road between Oodweyne and Burao and that the road will be completed in a short time.

CBA TV visited the region to check on the progress of the road construction but there was no road construction going on as the president had claimed. CBA reporters met the residents, including drivers and elders who all denied the head of state’s announcement.

Residents noted they had witnessed several government officials lay the foundation stone for the construction of the road but no action to implement the project was taken.

“ This is the road link between Hargeisa – Oodweyne – Buroa. Since 1960, the construction of this road has been mentioned several times by government officials but no action has ever been taken.” said one of the residents.

The is a very strategic road since thousands of people traveling to major cities use it on a daily basis. Most drivers told CBA TV that the road is one of the deadliest roads in the country and demanded the government for an immediate response.

“ I travel between Badarwanaag, Bali Ahmed, Shaarub, Harasheikh, Mureec, Baal’ad and Qudhac kudle. Our main challenge is this road. There is no region in Somaliland without roads except for oodweyne. I wonder why this region has no constructed roads.” said a driver

“ when we drive on this road , the car will not return unharmed. This is an extremely rough road. If you want to go pick someone who is in Qol-qol which is not far from here, it can take you 10 hours to reach the destination. We actually need the road to be constructed very urgently.”he added

Residents also said that a number of pregnant women died on their way to the hospitals due to the poor road conditions. They also expressed optimism that if the government starts the construction of this road that it will play a significant role to the region’s development and safety.