All too soon, it is a year since the decongestion exercise at Agbogbloshie and the man behind it all has unsurprisingly touched base with those at the centre of the movement.
Of course the beneficiaries of the decision are all now smiles after the initial resistance.
It was an exercise killjoys sought to make mountains from with all manner of machinations. Being well intentioned with no malice intended, the truth is now out.
No longer undertaking their business in filthy ambiences, the traders are now better off where they are today although there are outstanding items on the to-do-lists. These, the regional minister, during his engagement with the Gomoa Dominase traders, promised to address which for us are good tidings.
It takes visionaries to think out projects and execute same to benefit the people even when bad persons try to sabotage such well-intentioned policies.
We have observed how the relocation has enhanced the status of Ga West including Gomoa Dominase and provided new business openings for others in the areas of the transportation of onion in smaller vehicles to Accra Central.
Ga West is now host to many fresh residents who hired accommodation a reality, which has opened the frontiers of development to these parts of the capital, Gomoa Dominase and Adjen Kotoku.
Accra could not have remained in its 1970s garb and claim to be developing with some of its segments congested beyond acceptable levels.
It is for this reason that one year since the relocation, we think that we too should be able to take another look at the dividends bequeathed by the exercise and to commend the decision of the regional minister to pay a visit to the Central Region to assess the needs of the traders.
We do not have doubts about the regional minister making good his promise of addressing the challenges the traders laid before him when he visited them at Gomoa Dominase. That notwithstanding, we ask that such attention be expedited to enhance the comfort of the trades in their new abodes of operation.
The dividends in terms of convenience, the relocation has visited on the nation’s capital are as unquantifiable as they are significant.
It is our opinion that the relocation of traders, as let out some time ago, should not be shelved but carried out. Such relocation has the potential of addressing the garbage management challenge in Accra Central and its adjoining areas.
One year since the relocation, has been a great decision which has impacted positively on the nation’s capital.
Those who thought out the project and executed it in spite of the pessimism about its feasibility and even sabotage, deserve pats on their backs for their steadfastness and stoicism.