Between impassable roads, growing insecurity, and a dying economy, the people of the Gouroussé canton are sounding the alarm. A report on a strategic route that has become the symbol of a deadly isolation.

🛑 An Obstacle Course in the Heart of the Mountains

In the mountainous west of Ivory Coast, traveling from the sub-prefecture of Daleu to the town of Danané is no longer a journey, it's an act of bravery. These 42 kilometers of rutted track are the only artery for more than ten villages (Trokoulimpleu, Sioba, Doueleu, etc.), each home to between 2,000 and 5,000 inhabitants.

Yet, this area is an economic powerhouse: it produces coffee, cocoa, and food crops in abundance. But today, this engine is running on empty, stifled by a crumbling infrastructure.

A desolate landscape

1. The road: A "scar" of red laterite where the potholes look like graves.
2. The obstacles: Ravines, granite blocks and makeshift bridges threatening to collapse.
3. The rainy season: An impassable quagmire. On April 14 and 15, 2026, journalists witnessed the horror: motorcycle crashes, injuries, and vehicles stuck in the mud.

🏥 Giving life at the risk of one's own life

The human cost of this isolation is unbearable. In the absence of local health centers and schools, emergencies often turn into tragedies.

“Some die along the way,” testifies Gogbeu Célestine , spokesperson for the women of Sioba, with bitterness.

Without ambulances or paved roads, pregnant women are transported by motorcycle. Shaken by the potholes and exposed to dust and mud, many never reach the hospital in Danané. For these communities, this is not simply an inevitability, but a blatant injustice.

📉 Development at a Standstill

If the road precedes development, here, progress has turned back. The observation made during the tour by Guillaume Gbato , the new member of parliament for the constituency, is alarming:

1. Education: Primary schools with only three classrooms, supplemented by makeshift sheds.
2. Communication: A virtually non-existent telephone network.
3. Abandoned works: According to the village chief of Doueleu, Tongba Jean , the construction projects started before the crisis have remained a dead letter.

📢 The Call for a "Marshall Plan"

The election of Guillaume Gbato rekindled a glimmer of hope. For the first time in a long time, an elected official has come to listen and observe the facts. But the urgency of the situation can no longer be addressed with mere promises.

"We're not asking for the moon. A major overhaul could already save us. We are Ivorians too!" exclaims the chief of Doueleu.

Alain Tokpa , a young local leader nicknamed "the Intellectual", sums up the situation gravely: every day of inaction is a deliberate endangerment of the lives of others.

What the people are asking for:

1. An urgent reprofiling of the Daleu–Danané axis before total isolation.
2. The construction of basic infrastructure (health, education).
3. A comprehensive rescue plan for the Gouroussé canton.

The message is clear: the government and the Head of State must act before these 42 km of hell permanently cut off part of Ivory Coast from the rest of the nation.