Editorial
Thumbs up to GPRTU
Dear Editor,
I wish to commend the Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU) for measures put in place to ensure discipline among drivers at the Neoplan Station at the Kwame Nkrumah Circle.
The taskforce does not allow drivers to park or pick up passengers at prohibited zones leading to the main station. Lately, they are on standby at the terminal to ensure the drivers adhere to their revised rules and regulations.
From spot fines to clamping of vehicles, the taskforce has so far been able to maintain discipline among the drivers. Until recently, pedestrians could not stand the chaos at the entrance of the terminal as floating drivers at the entrance of the terminal jostled for passengers.
The taskforce, in their now smarter outfit, parade the terminal from morning till evening and are quick to take further action against drivers who defy their orders. I believe their renewed effort is in line with that of the Metropolitan authorities to ensure the capital city becomes tidy.
Meanwhile, I want to urge GPRTU to check their personnel who connive with some drivers to break the law, after they have been given small monetary favours. They should be focused on preserving the existing sanity in the area while city authorities focus on other areas.
The general public should as well collaborate with the taskforce so together we can attain the common objective of making ‘Accra Work Again.’
Richael Ammah,
Accra.
Dear Editor,
Valentine’s Day is just around the corner and I wish to use your respected platform to appeal to the Cocobod to make enough cocoa products available and at reduced prices.
It might interest you to know that there are a lot of people like me who hardly take time to refresh ourselves with cocoa products like chocolate and so forth.
It is occasions like this that make us refresh ourselves with chocolate and other cocoa-related products.
Gladly, inflation has dropped significantly and for ordinary citizens like us, purchasing some of these products at reduced prices is the only way we can experience this reduction.
As usual, the market women would rush to buy and sell them at exorbitant prices, forcing a lot of people to stay away from showing love to friends and families.
I, therefore, appeal to the Cocobod to make the chocolates and other products available in large quantities at vantage points to make them accessible to all.
Maxwell Alabi,
Mamprobi
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Homelessness in Ghana, particularly in major cities like Accra, Kumasi, and Takoradi, is a growing crisis driven by severe housing shortages, economic hardship, and rapid urbanisation.
Thousands of people, including children, sleep on the streets, in front of stores, on pavements, or beneath footbridges at the mercy of the weather due to the lack of accessible, safe, and secure housing. Their situation is even worse when it rains since they have nowhere to hide.
In actual fact, housing infrastructure development is far behind the influx of migrants from rural areas to cities like Accra in search of better prospects, which leads to overcrowding and low-grade housing.
Although the homeless feel safe in their temporary shelters on streets and pavements, it is dangerous to their health. When they are sacked, they soon return to the streets again as they have no place of abode, so the situation becomes a cycle of ‘sacking and returning.’
This menace of homelessness comes as a result of poverty, migration, parental neglect, divorce, among others, which is affecting many women and children. In effect, children who should be in school find themselves on the streets, begging for alms.
Some of them pick whatever they can find, such as half-spoiled products from trash dumps, leftovers from the road, or food scraps. This puts their lives in jeopardy every day by exposing them to illnesses, abuse, drug usage, and human trafficking.
The homeless must be empowered with skills development and job creation opportunities such as vocational training to allow them to become economically self-sufficient and move off the streets.
Ghana cannot progress if she fails to address this menace; therefore, the government must find lasting solutions to the problem by investing in the construction of low-cost, affordable housing units, creating rent-to-own schemes to ensure low-income earners can secure shelter.
Additionally, the government should find ways to reduce the influx of people into cities by creating more jobs and investing in infrastructure in rural areas.
There is the urgent need to enhance support for victims of domestic violence and families in distress, which will go a long way to prevent them from becoming homeless, especially women who face barriers to property ownership.
It is necessary to have more shelters, feeding programmess, rehabilitation facilities, and mandatory school reintegration to address this challenge.
Addressing homelessness in Ghana requires a collaborative approach involving government action, private sector investment in low-cost housing, and support from Non-governmental Organisations (NGOs) to ensure sustainable, long-term solutions.
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