The Chief of Ashaiman, Nii Annang Adzor, has shared his thoughts about the demonstration that happened in Ashaiman on Tuesday.
This comes in the wake of calls for the government to come to the aid of the Ashaiman people because the roads are in such bad condition.
In an interview with the media on the aftermath of the demonstration and matters arising, he said that it is high time premium is placed on fixing bad roads to prevent the incessant carnage of our roads specifically Ashaiman and its environs.
He also said that because of the dreadful traffic these roads generate, daily users like workers and students are virtually always late.
“The roads are poor. This is what we have to deal with on a daily basis. I had a drive from Zenu to Michel Camp to visit a friend, and I left at 6:30 a.m. I arrived at 11 a.m.,” he revealed.
There was just too much traffic on the road” he noted.
Nii Adzor indicated that he takes resources from his own funds to provide sand and stones for filling some of these potholes, and he stated that he does it because he is a leader and national governance should be a priority.
“I’m a leader, and I have to support the community. Let’s be mindful that we all pay taxes, and we’re part of governance,” he indicated.
He also mentioned that there is an urban roads department that occasionally assists with patching the roads, but that department no longer performs its tasks due to a lack of resources from the government.
“The urban roads department should be doing their job, but they lack resources, so they are left waiting for the roads to turn into manholes,” he explained.
Nii Adzor indicated that because motorcycles are faster, some pedestrians patronise them because they wouldn’t be in traffic.
He also said that young people use it as a source of employment and a means of survival.
He made this comment in reference to the regular people who are periodically run over by motorcycles.
He also said that he will implement steps to make it easier to recognise Okada riders by providing uniforms and training programmes. He mentioned that he would be in constant communication with the MTTD so that these motorbike riders can be trained.
In this regard, they would be more easily recognised, and irresponsible driving would be greatly reduced.
“Since we can’t stop the motorbikes from operating, we can regulate how they move on our roads to avoid accidents, and we can give them uniforms to wear so that we can easily identify them,I will be in communication with the MTTD to insure this is done” he stated
“We want to put measures in place to create a more conducive environment for pedestrians,” he mentioned
Nii Adzor stated that the Regional Minister had pledged to fix the roads during their meeting, but nothing ever came of it.
“About four months ago, the Regional Minister met with us and promised to fix our roads, but as of now, nothing has been done,” he said
He also suggests that, in order to prevent injuries during demonstrations,the police and demonstrators must coexist peacefully.
Nii Adzor indicated that the government should assist them since they require assistance to have access to good roads in Ashaiman.
He further noted that Ashaiman would be an improved location and that managing other resources would be simpler if the roads were good enough.
