By Nicholas Osei-Wusu
The conventional annual Independence Day parade was in the Ashanti region replaced with a massive clean up exercise in the regional capital of Kumasi.
Despite central government’s directive for a small scale celebration of the Independence day activities, many people in the region still were hopeful the parade would be held.
Today’s sanitation campaign, organized by the RCC, centered around Allahbar stretching to the Manhyia Palace and its immediate environs in Kumasi.
The reasons included that, the vicinity is not only a busy suburb but sees local and foreign arrivals almost everyday as Allabar has become the hotbed for money changers, travelers to and from the northern regions of Ghana as well as Sub Saharan Africa, including Niger, Chad and Burkina Faso.
Incidentally, almost every drainage system in this area of Kumasi has become heavily silted choking them for at least 10 years without much attention.
This leads to heavy flooding within the enclave anytime there is a rainfall while the whole place produces pungent smell thereby creating a bad impression among, especially first time visitors, about the once Garden City.
The Manhyia Palace was also chosen because it is the seat of the Overlord of Asanteman and destination for both local and foreign tourists and visiting dignitaries.
The exercise was at a scale perhaps never seen before in the region.
It involved the use of excavators from the DRIP machinery, heavy duty tipper trucks augmented with tricycles commonly called ‘Aboboyaa’ and ‘Pragia’ to carry the refuse away.
The exercise was heavily patronized by state security operatives, second cycle school pupils and their Cadet, NADMO officials, the Ashanti Regional Representative on the Council of State, Yaw Owusu Obimpeh, NDC members and sympathizers as well as some market women.
And of course, there were other residents, including traders, who would only standby and watch others work.
They desilted the heavily choked gutters and swept the dirty surroundings.
Some of the people, particularly those who either live around or regularly visit the place for business reasons speaking to Correspondent Nicholas Osei-Wusu, commended the RCC for using the Independence Day to organize clean up exercise. Baba Alhaji, who claimed to be one of the Zongo Chiefs and a regular visitor to the area noted that, since the construction of the inner roads in the vicinity by Limex more than two decades ago, the drains have not seen any deliberate desilting.
To him, it comes as no surprise that all the gutters were choked resulting in flooding at the least rainfall.
On her part, a woman who gave her name only as Mama Vida, expressed serious reservations about the indifference of the traders at Allabar towards environmental sanitation in the area even though they are major contributors to the filth and silting of the drains.
She commended the Regional Minister for leading such a campaign.
The Regional Chairman of Pragia Riders Operators Union of Ghana, Seidu Mubarak, was excited about the involvement of the tricycle riders in the exercise as their contribution to national development.
He said their participation in the exercise was their contribution to national development.
The Regional Minister, Dr. Frank Amoakohene, who led the campaign, explained that, it was part of cost-cutting measure of the government which also aimed to make the national commemoration physically impactful for the people by pre empting any possible disastrous consequences of the upcoming rainy season which has already started wreaking havoc in some communities
He said, even though all the administrative Districts and Municipalities in the region were allowed to organize cost effective independence parades, the RCC decided to use the occasion to make a direct impact on the lives of the residents through clean up exercise aimed at preventing flooding during the rainy season.
The Regional Minister assured that, unlike in previous clean up exercises, a team has been put on standby to follow up on the exercise the days afterwards to clear any leftover garbage on the shoulders of the drains.
He also directed that, no shop operator or trader should exhibit his or her wares along the gutters henceforth.
