Editorial
Hawkers invade Tema Community One pavement
A session of the pavement invaded by traders
Dear Editor,
It is common knowledge that some traders across the various cities in Ghana use the pavements meant for pedestrians to sell their wares and Tema, the ‘model city’ of Ghana’s first president, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, is gradually losing its shine to this canker.
Selling on pavements has become a common practice at Tema Community One. The activities of these hawkers generate filth, cause human traffic, choke drains as well as cause vehicular congestion.
The situation is getting worse by the day following the inability of the Tema Municipal Assembly’s Task Force to live up to the task by clearing these hawkers.
These traders, mostly small-scale traders, set up their temporary shops on the pavements in order to sell their goods or render their services to passers-by. They sell a variety of goods including vegetables, fruits, household items, clothes and shoes.
While this practice provides a means of livelihood for people who would otherwise be unemployed, it poses numerous challenges of which the traders don’t seem to bother. It obstructs pedestrian movement and often causes congestion on the streets. The presence of these traders on the pavements creates a safety hazard for both the traders and pedestrians alike, as they often have to contend with vehicles and motorcycles racing along the streets. The sanitary conditions of the marketplaces on pavements are often poor, which pose a health risk for both the traders and the consumers. Garbage and waste is often left uncollected, and this creates an unsanitary environment with the potential of spreading diseases.
In an interview with some traders, their reason for trading on the pavement and the roads is due to lack of market space as majority of Ghanaians prefer to buy from the road side to the established markets. Some of these vendors on the pavements and roads said they make profit selling by the road side compared with the established markets.
A waakye seller Hajia Mariam said she sold her food early in the morning to those going to work along the road side.
Despite these challenges, the practice of traders selling on the pavements persists because, it provides an affordable option for many consumers who cannot afford to buy goods at the established markets like the Malls and the Shoprite. However, there is the need for the government to intervene and manage this informal trading sector for the safety and well-being of both the traders and the public.
Eva Boamah
Ghana Institute of Journalism (GIJ)
Dear Editor,
I WRITE to condemn the circumstances under which an accident victim died recently after three major hospitals reportedly turned him away due to what has earned a place in our local parlance as ‘no bed syndrome.’
Reports suggested that this motor rider who got knocked by a vehicle was taken to three major hospitals – Police Hospital, Greater Accra Regional Hospital (Ridge Hospital), and the Korle-bu Teaching Hospital – but they all claimed they had no beds.
But one may ask, would there ever be beds?
Such is the treatment Ghanaians endure every now and then when one visits our hospitals, especially the public ones which are run with the taxpayers’ money. Many a time when one visits the hospitals, the sight of patients admitted and lying on benches, and some sitting on chairs while receiving care, is visible to all; making one wonder why this particular motor rider was not admitted at any of the facilities, looking at his condition.
This leads to the reason for this letter, which is to bring out a perceived apathy against these motor riders, the majority of whom are referred to as ‘Okada’ riders.
Due to their recklessness on the roads and the inconvenience caused to commuters, people always speak ill about them; drivers equally have no regard for them. Every user of public transport would attest to this. These riders are blamed for every offence, even when it is obvious drivers may be at fault sometimes.
Motor riders have become like orphans on the road; people care less about them, and when they are unfortunately knocked down, no one cares about them.
This is the mischief our authorities and agencies, including the police, must seek to cure to make the road safe for all users.
These are young folks that want to make a living for themselves, and with no skill or education, ‘Okada’ rides have become their source of livelihood. They need the protection accorded drivers and commuters as well.
In other countries, some facilities have been provided to make their work safer, but in Ghana, we lack them, leaving them with no alternative than to share the available space with the cars.
What has happened should serve as a wake-up call on our authorities to aim to take a second look at the ‘Okada’ menace. With the numbers increasing, there should be a way to regulate them because no government would have the guts to ban it totally.
Drivers should be made to accept the reality that they are sharing the roads with them, and therefore the need for patience and tolerance.
For some of our hospitals, I suggest the Ministry of Health conduct their own investigations to see what patients go through in accessing medicare, which is even not for free.
Thank you, Editor, for the space.
F. Morgan, Kokrobite
Dear Editor,
THE heartbreaking death of 29-year-old engineer Charles Amissah in a hit-and-run accident has exposed once again the failures in our health system.
Even more painful is the fact that his father had previously donated beds to some hospitals, yet when his son needed urgent care, he was moved from one facility to another because there were ‘no beds.’
This is not only tragic but unacceptable. How can a country lose its bright young citizens simply because hospitals cannot provide emergency treatment? The ‘no bed syndrome’ has become a national disgrace, and Charles’ death is a reminder that reforms cannot wait.
Our hospitals must be equipped to handle emergencies, and accountability must be enforced. If donations are made to improve facilities, then those facilities must serve the people when it matters most. Ghana cannot afford to keep losing lives to negligence and poor infrastructure.
Charles Amissah’s death should be the turning point. Let us honor his memory by fixing the system so that no family would suffer this kind of preventable loss again.
Princess Wonovi
Accra
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