Congestion galore in Ghanaian urban centres
When was the last time you visited the central business district (CBD) of Accra - specifically between the Makola and Kantamanto markets? What about Adum in Kumasi and specifically the area around Roman Hill, Kejetia Market and Bantama in Kumasi? Or the Market Circle in Takoradi?
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If you have been to any of these places lately, you might have felt uneasy, had to elbow your way through milling crowds and also probably held on tightly to your wallets or purses. Simply put, these areas and others across the urban settlements in Ghana are so heavily congested and pedestrian movement is very difficult and even dangerous.
Many foreigners in Ghana for the first time who visit these places wonder how Ghanaians manage or survive in these circumstances.
I was with a group of Ethiopian and German professors and graduate students recently on a walk from Opoku Trading Shop in the Ministries area in Kumasi through the Prempeh II road to the Roman Hill precinct.
It was a very interesting and unnerving experience. Of course I had done such walks several times over the years and was not particularly fazed by this recent "trip", but it was very interesting watching the countenance of my visitors.
One could hardly walk on the walkways or pavements along the road. Along the entire length, traders or hawkers had taken over and in several places, one had to step on the road where numerous vehicles were also jostling for position either to pick up passengers or beat their competitors to a better position in the queue for passengers.
The crowds got more congested as we approached the Unicorn House, and getting to the overhead bridge over the railway tracks at the railway station was an experience in itself.
Congestion at Kejetia market
On both the ramp or stairs leading to the overhead bridge, hawkers and traders had literally taken over the spaces and the situation was no different on the bridge itself.
Various wares had been openly displayed either on the floor of the bridge or on tables. From both sides of the bridge, one could not see the rail tracks on the ground. Kiosks and numerous improvised structures had been assembled on the railway tracks. When I mentioned that that was the railway station and pointed out the actual buildings, my visitors inquired how the trains moved from one point to another and I had to explain the collapse of the railway system.
The walk from the railway station to the Roman Hill where we viewed the Kejetia Market from the balcony of an uncompleted building was no different as we jostled through the crowds. Some males in the crowd even dared to propose to one of the German female graduate students.
The views of the Kejetia Market, however, appeared to have been the icing on the cake for the visitors as they all wanted to return and actually walk through the market.
Takoradi and Accra
The situation is no different in Takoradi and Accra. Arguably, it is a toss-up as to whether congestion is worse in Takoradi around the Market Circle or in Accra around the Makola Market.
The streets have literally been taken over by traders displaying their wares on trolleys and tables, and traffic congestion is one of the worst in the country. This is compounded by the competition of taxi drivers trying desperately to butt in to join the traffic at the least opportunity.
Traffic rules and regulations appear to have been sacrificed and it is a miracle that head-on collisions are not experienced more frequently on a daily basis. As a result, it is not an uncommon sight to see police officers controlling traffic even where traffic lights have been installed and are working at various junctions.
Can everybody be allowed to trade in every nook and cranny in the CBDs of Accra, Kumasi and Takoradi and other urban centres in Ghana? Whatever happened to city or urban planning and where are the planning authorities? What are they waiting for?
Have the planning rules and regulations been thrown overboard by the various district, municipal and metropolitan assemblies? How can the assemblies wake up from their slumber and address these pressing issues? Our urban centres are simply too congested.
Poor sanitation
It is such congestion that has also contributed to the very poor sanitation levels and the ubiquitous piles of filth in the urban centres in Ghana. Filth is everywhere. Garbage is thrown everywhere and the worst places seem to be the designated points of garbage collection where garbage literally overflows from bins and dumpsters.
This situation has been with our urban centres for decades now despite several efforts, including the institution of the weekly or monthly clean-up or sanitation days. One must also not forget the ubiquitous presence of the numerous Zoomlion workers in their brightly coloured outfits scattered all over the country (including the urban centres) and seen sweeping the streets at dawn.
Perhaps the introduction of health or sanitary inspectors in both the CBD and residential areas as well, could reduce the incidence of garbage being disposed of indiscriminately in the urban centres.
Solution
What can, therefore, be done to mitigate the problem of congestion in Ghanaian urban centres? Perhaps, management of the urban centres is too cumbersome as at present.
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So much has been said and written about decentralisation in Ghana and how various approaches aimed at improving governance at the local government level have been expanded across the country, but the impact has not been felt or seen by the people or the settlements.
It is true that sub-metro councils have been formed in the urban centres but have these bodies been resourced to play their supposed roles adequately?
There is, therefore, the need to take a second look at the management of urban centres in Ghana.
Perhaps the sub-metro bodies themselves are still covering large areas of the urban centres and may need to be broken down further. Performance yardsticks must be put in place to periodically evaluate the role of the management bodies.
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Planning authorities charged with overseeing the development of Ghanaian urban centres must have the proper and adequate training, especially in these times when numerous "planners" are floating around in several different disciplines.
Urban settlement planners must understand the development and growth of settlements, as well as be able to understand and read architectural drawings and modelling for effective management.
This may be another reason the curricula for planning programmes in tertiary institutions need to be supervised properly and run with the relevant professional bodies. This must be done on the short, medium and long-term basis and not on an ad hoc basis, so that continuity can be assured.
Politics
Politicians must not be allowed to dabble in areas and issues that they may not understand, and they must be made to work with trained, technical personnel with the relevant qualifications. The general public must be allowed to participate in the planning and development of community programmes and facilities through town hall meetings for example.
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Apathy may exist among the population in urban centres but if adequate and regular information is made available, many citizens may attend such town hall meetings. This is because once physical structures have been put up, several reasons could be found to make them permanent. Then the usual Ghanaian attitude of "... but money has been spent on this building/project and why should it be pulled down ..." and other similar excuses will be cited. Managers of Ghanaian urban settlements need to be proactive and not simply reactive.
Congestion has been allowed to take over Ghanaian urban settlements, particularly in the CBDs. It is not enough to continue talking about this development ad nauseum.
The writer is Past Head, Department of Architecture, KNUST and Past Dean, Faculty of Architecture and Building Technology, KNUST
E-mail: gwkintsiful@gmail.com