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RESIDENTS of Sakumono in the Tema West Constituency are up in arms against the Tema Metropolitan Assembly (TMA) over the poor nature of roads within the community, as well as the poor street lighting system. At a meeting organised by the Residents Association over the weekend, the group said they were giving the TMA one month to address �these pressing issues, otherwise we will advise ourselves.� A spokesperson for the Association, Mrs Elizabeth Awiah, told The Finder: �We have been living with this terrible situation for more than three years and we think it is time to tell the Assembly that they cannot take our humility for timidity.� She said with the onset of the rains, the situation has gone from bad to worse, adding that many of the roads in community have developed potholes, thus making driving a torturous affair every single day. �Look, virtually all the roads in the community are bad, but the ones that are really giving us headache are the stretch in front of the Sakumono Complex School, the MPs flats, the stretch from the Regimanuel-Gray Estate to the Vivian Farm Junction, all the roads within the Regimanuel-Gray Estate, all the roads in the NTHC Estate, as well as all the roads within the TDC area. �Beyond the roads within the community, the major road leading from the Nungua barrier through Sakumono to Ashaiman, as well as the beach road to Tema, are full of many potholes and have become a death trap for motorists,� she added angrily. She said the Association was aware that the roads within the community had been awarded on contract as far back as 2012, and wondered why the work still remained undone. The spokesperson urged the TMA to ensure that whoever is assigned to the job delivers value for money so that the roads will stand the test of time and not become a nightmare with the slightest downpour, as presently is the case. On the poor lighting system, the spokesperson said �the whole community virtually lives in darkness and under incessant attack of criminals.� Reacting to the concerns of the residents, the Assembly member for Sakumono, Mrs Adwoa Amoako, said she was very much aware of the horrible conditions of the roads, as well as the poor lighting system in the community, and added that she will support any action the Association would take to get the TMA to respond positively to their plight. She disclosed that the roads within the community formed part of selected roads in Tema West that were awarded on contract in 2012 at a cost of GH₵350,000 for repair work under the Urban Development Grant. She said it was surprising that the contractor, TAWAK Company Limited, had failed to undertake the job, and urged the assembly to ensure that the contract was re-awarded, as a matter of urgency, to mitigate the hazards motorists go through daily. �Ghanaians are tired of being taken for a ride when it comes to road repairs or construction. We must, therefore, ensure that the contractor uses quality materials to undertake the job to avoid the waste of public funds and also ensure the durability of the roads,� the Assembly member added. On the street lights, Mrs Amoako said there was the need not only to repair the faulty lights, but to provide additional ones to brighten up the community and ward off criminals.