Editorial
Check streetlights on Prof Atta-Mills High Street
Please permit me to use your medium to draw attention to some pressing issue. I usually drive past the Professor Atta-Mills High Street and the Independence Square in Accra but never does it occur to me that this stretch of the road poses a great danger to users with 20 dysfunctional streetlights along the stretch.
While that part of the capital city is very busy during the day, with a number of people going about their daily businesses, it’s very surprising to note that the monumental stretch that was named after the late President John Evans Atta-Mills is a dangerous area to walk at night.
Institutions such as the Bank of Ghana, the Supreme Court, the Kwame Nkrumah Museum, the National Lottery Authority, and the Volta River Authority are lined up on the stretch.
In the evenings, it becomes very rare to see anyone walking in the area as it poses a great threat to human lives at that time.
Unlike during the day where a lot of people walk through the streets, in its place in the evenings, there are only the sounds of vehicles.
On one of my usual routines on Thursday, September 2, 2021, from work, as I drove past the High Street, I observed that drivers did not stop at the traffic lights between the Accra Sports Stadium and Independence Square at night due to the pitch darkness.
Also, on the Law Complex Road, I witnessed gross driving indiscipline displayed by drivers who plied that route at night as they did not obey the traffic light regulations.
The only lights functioning on the Atta-Mills high street is at the Black Star Square roundabout – the Independence Arc, and the lights atthe buildings of the institutions earlier stated.
It is very sad to note how the Prof Atta-Mills High street, which is a tourist attraction, and which sits in the heart of the capital, is gradually growing into one of the most dangerous areas to walk or travel on at night.
Government must work hard to resolve this looming danger before people are robbed of their valuables and lives are lost.
I think government can use the three per cent levy charged all consumers of electricity for street lighting (which generated GH¢273.9million of revenue in 2018 and 2019) to ensure that the entire country is properly lit up at night.
Joseph Adamafio,
Student Ghana Institute of Journalism
Dear Editor,
Walking along roads in some parts of the capital has become increasingly challenging.
While trading on pedestrian walkways remains a concern in certain areas, the parking of vehicles on road shoulders also poses a serious risk to pedestrians.
Often, pedestrians are forced to walk dangerously close to these parked vehicles or even step into the middle of the road to make way for oncoming traffic.
This situation is not only frustrating but also highly unsafe.
I recall an incident when I alighted at a lorry station and was walking home. A Tata bus was approaching, and due to vehicles parked on both sides of the road, I had nowhere to walk safely.
The situation became so dangerous that I had to quickly jump into a nearby shop to avoid being knocked down by the oncoming Tata bus.
That experience was frightening and could have easily resulted in an accident.
In my view, it is time for authorities in the road sector, such as the National Road Safety Authority and the Motor Traffic and Transport Department (MTTD) of the Ghana Police Service, to take urgent action to address this issue and prevent possible loss of life.
Strict enforcement measures, including towing improperly parked vehicles and imposing substantial fines, would serve as a deterrent to offenders.
From Ray
Adabraka
Dear Editor,
I wish to use this column of your respected newspaper to appeal to the Ministry of Education and the Ghana Education Service to consider bringing back the practice where students stayed home for some months after completing the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE).
Within that period where they stay home for some time and wait for their results, it afforded parents some time to prepare and save towards the next move in the academic life of their children.
In recent times, students are quickly admitted into Senior High School immediately after their examinations, leaving little time for parents and guardians to adequately prepare financially and emotionally for the next stage of their children’s education.
Many parents, therefore struggle to buy school items such as chop boxes, trunks, mattresses, uniforms and other necessities within the short period given.
This situation places pressure on families, especially those with low incomes.
Previously, the break after BECE allowed students to rest after years of academic work while parents and guardians made proper preparations for their wards.
It also gave students enough time to learn vocational skills, assist their families and mature before entering boarding school life.
Bringing back this period will greatly reduce stress on both parents and students and help ensure better preparation for Senior High School education.
And one other thing we have not taken notice of is that within that period, parents also prepare their children mentally and psychologically before they go to school. They are thought how to be independent.
So we see new secondary students displaying an appreciable level of maturity which is missing in this era where they go to senior high schools and still behave like primary school kids.
I hope the authorities will carefully consider this concern in the interest of students, parents and guardians across the country.
By Eugene Ampiaw,
Accra.
