Kwasi Amoako Atta – Road Minister
“Thank you very much minister. You are really a sensible man. These …things have been a worry to all commuters but it takes someone like you to get them removed… it’s going to be a good X’mas gift to all”.
Kofi
Dear Minister, it is all welcome to you to the peaceful region of Ashanti. You come at a time when we are in ecstasy for one reason or the other.
First, our great King has returned peacefully and honourably from his sojourn to Brazil, and the wild allegations levelled against him have all been found to be bunkum. You know how Asantes believe and trust their kings, but this one is exceptional – there is a reason why we call him King Solomon. He has a large heart for everyone. Among the large retinue of people that met the King at the Kumasi Airport were the Regional Minister, Simon Osei – Mensah, his deputy Elizabeth Agyeman and the Kumasi Mayor, Osei Assibey Antwi. It was significant that some of the young men in NPP travelled from Accra to be part of the merry – making team to welcome the King: Sammy Awuku, National Youth Organiser, Henry Nana Boakye (a.k.a. Nana B), Deputy Executive Director of the National Service Secretariat, Stephen Amoah Chief Executive Officer of MASLOC and Justin Kodua, Chief Executive Officer of the Youth Enterprise Agency (YEA) ‘Nana nkwa so’, the Akan version of ‘Long Live, the King’, was the bark and whoop everywhere, amidst the traditional ‘kete’ and ‘adowa’ songs. Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, resplendent in colourful suit, became a vocalist with an ensemble singing in recitatives and oratorio, that Thursday evening, October, 19, 2017.
Second, on Tuesday, 24th October, 2017, a church service was held at the Saint Cyprian’s Anglican Church at Fanti New Town. Archbishop Dr. Daniel Yinka Sarfo led a team of Reverend Anglican Ministers to bless Oheneba Aduse Poku (Akempemhene) who was offering his thanks to the Almighty for restoring him to good health. It was also to thank the Lord for the nomination of Oheneba Dr. Akyaa Opoku Ware as Ghana’s Ambassador to Russia. You know the reason for my excitement? I thought, even though I am not as fluent in Russian as Dr Vladimir Antwi – Danso, I would get the opportunity to share a few words in Russian, but it was ‘ne bui’ (not to be). While praying for them, we are titillated by the observation by the eminent and venerable Archbishop, Dr Yinkah: “These are very well – educated people and people of substance but they do not show off”. Their humility will definitely carry them very far.
Third, the impasse that arose between the State Transport Company (STC) and the GPRTU over the siting of the STC loading point at Asafo Market seems to be getting resolved. Ghana is not a lawless country, but you need sober heads in such a crisis. One of the owners of the fleet of V.I.P. buses, Mr Yaw Amponsah Marfo (a.k.a. Ewiase) would not wish to have any conflict with the state owned organisation. After all, the state owned company is for the good of all Ghanaians. As an ex – policeman, Ewiase had constructed a police station for his home village near Mampong-Ashanti, knows full well that the VIP station had once been occupied by ‘One – pound, One – pound’ (Peugeot), Accra – bound Benz buses, Issaka – Awudu buses, Neoplan buses and the like. The Regional Minister showed maturity when, after a closed-door meeting, he proclaimed a freeze on the inauguration of the STC loading point at Asafo Market. There is the need for ‘jaw – jaw’, that is dialogue, and the Ashanti Regional Minister had started the ball rolling.
Fourth, the mob action by the Delta Force which sought to tarnish the NPP image, and paint the party black has been settled with the imposition of a fine of GH?1800 on each of the thirteen NPP –related vigilante group imposed by the Asokwa Circuit Court. The CDD thinks the punishment was too ‘lenient’: “You cannot convince the ordinary man on the street that this is justice: because just as you are doing this, there are people that have been jailed for owing someone GH?200. So you cannot create this kind of reality in society and expect that law and order will be respected”. So, you may ask: “What would have been the ‘just’ punishment for these breakers of the law?” Is the law indeed an ass or was the verdict a slap – on the – wrist’?
Honourable Minister, your intervention has put the icing on the cake of our merriment. The commuters of the Kumasi-Ejisu Road have, for long, complained about these traffic islands. Whereas it took me just about five minutes to drive from ‘Ejisu Yard’ to my home village of Kokobra – Fumesua, in the past with a single lane, it now took me forty-five minutes to do that short journey on a dual carriage way. And the scores of accidents on the stretch! Hardly a week passes when one would not encounter a truck fallen by the road, and when that happens, it further worsens motoring. The KNUST police will tell you what has happened since these traffic islands were created as part of a design for the GH394 billion Danish – government funded reconstruction of the 46 kilometer Kumasi – Konongo Road Project in 2004.
Sir, contrary to what the engineers have been conveying to us, because we are not engineers, you revealed: “Engineering review has proven that we can remove them (the islands). There couldn’t be any more appropriate occasion to give that directive than now. I am therefore, directing my Chief Director and all directors of agencies that within two months, before the end of the year, all these four roundabouts should be removed and the road straightened up and the entire stretch asphalted”. Halleluia! Please, join me in singing praises to the Lord!
An elated Regional Minister, Mr Simon Osei – Mensah, couldn’t hide his excitement when he responded: “We will have a smooth flow of traffic from now and we are very grateful to them. We are happy that today, this problem by the end of the year, is going to be a thing of the past”. Of course, the ‘listening government‘ tag put on NPP is no fluke, and, Minister, you have proven that you will listen to all – no matter how unpalatable some observations might seem. Now, non – experts in engineering may suggest some solutions to the problem: traffic lights can do; speed humps can check the speeding vehicles. You could not have given us a better Christmas gift. There are other assurances: the Sofoline Interchange, the Lake Road, the Atwima Roads, et cetera.
After all, my nocturnal visits to your not – so – humble abode at Sixth Lane, Community 11, Tema, have yielded, fruits. Sorry, I could not reciprocate (Iddi Amin would say ‘retaliate’) the nice gestures on your visit. I would not want to interfere in the protocol. Enjoy your stay in Ashanti. Let me recall my heyday (please, not ‘heydays’) as a music director in an institution: “Wonya anigye a kae me oo, Owura Kwasi e, kae me oo, Kae me”. I want to end my piece. Mesi ha kyea wo pii (and in my youthful days, a co – tenant in my house at NA 100, Asafo , would add about a hundred ‘I’ to the ‘pii’.) Asanteman da wo ase.
africanusoa@gmail.com
Africanus Owusu – Ansah