Braving the Nsawam-Apedwa obstacle course

The Mirror Life Jul - 18 - 2014 , 14:55 6 minutes read

I never thought there would come a time when I would regret the development of domestic air travel in Ghana so dependable that now, for some people, flying to Kumasi or Sunyani or Tamale is almost as normal as tro-tro travel is for others.

But I’m beginning to regret what should be a proud mark of progress, because I hold this development partly responsible for the continuing awful state of some of our roads, especially the Nsawam-Suhum-Apedwa section of the Accra-Kumasi highway.

One can only liken travelling on that highway to an ‘obstacle course’, in which competitors have to get past a range of impediments. The only difference is that in this case, the unfortunate road users are not competitors, but just people trying to reach a destination who have become victims of the long neglect of that road.

The rehabilitation of the Accra-Kumasi highway was a pet project of the previous administration, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) government of President John Kufuor, and work on it seems to have come to a complete stop since the ruling National Democratic Congress of President John Mahama came into office.

Users of that highway have been left to their fate on its bad sections. However, it is one of the most important roads, if not the most important, as it links the capital city with Ashanti, Brong-Ahafo and the North; as well as some of Ghana’s neighbouring countries, underscoring its vital economic role.

The mountains of gravel and sand flanking some of the bad sections, obviously meant for the road construction when the project started, are now sprouting long weeds dancing merrily in the breeze and they seem destined to soon host trees if the state of affairs continues.

Thus I can’t help thinking that the availability of regular domestic flights is a contributory factor to people in authority neglecting their responsibility to ensure that roads are motorable.

If all the influential people can go by air, why would they see to it that work on the long stalled, Nsawam-Suhum-Apedwa section resumes? After all, what do they care? They will fly if they need to go to Kumasi, Sunyani or Tamale!

In the recent past, domestic air travel was not so readily available and reliable, meaning that if the Kumasi road was impassable, it wasn’t only the poor in society who suffered; the ‘big’ people too suffered some amount of discomfort even if they were travelling in their off-road or rough terrain vehicles. They would be jolted (literally) into seeing the urgency of repairing roads.

My information is that currently, there are a number of daily flights to Kumasi, Sunyani and Tamale operated by three airlines: Antrak, Starbow and Africa World. (Takoradi, too, has daily flights.)

The cost of a standard, one-way ticket to Kumasi ranges between GH¢90.00 and GH¢180,00, depending on the airline – assuming that the fares haven’t changed since I last checked! The flight to Kumasi takes about the duration of time it takes for a car to manoeuvre its way safely through the Nsawam-Apedwa portion.

It is no exaggeration to say that everybody who uses the Nsawam-Suhum road, even if in a robust off-road vehicle for rough terrain, has their hearts in their mouths at some point. A motorist has to brave craters, potholes, uneven parts, muddy or dusty portions and everything that makes one dread travelling on a bad road.

In places, it is hard to know where the road is and the drivers’ bid to use only the good parts often leads to scary, near head-on collisions with vehicles coming from the opposite direction.

There is no day when travelling on that highway that one doesn’t come across cars that have given up in protest, or huge articulated trucks that have overturned and spilled their cargo.

And one shudders to calculate the toll on limbs and lives.

When there is heavy traffic, the bad portions turn what should be a four-hour, Accra-Kumasi journey into a six-hour or longer nightmare as vehicles inch their way along.

If the just-gone Roads and Highways Minister, Alhaji Aminu Sulemana, ever travelled on that highway, what were his thoughts as he watched vehicles snaking along, his included?

I also wonder about President John Mahama’s experience with that road although in March during a visit to the Eastern Region, he announced that the Government was looking for private sector funding to construct an Accra-Kumasi “super highway”.

Interesting that the President didn’t say he would continue what the NPP started, but rather a ‘super-highway’ would be constructed. Or did he mean the same highway project? However, he reportedly explained that work on a number of roads, including the Accra-Kumasi, had delayed for lack of funds because they are being financed entirely by the Ghana government and its budget is over-stretched.

I imagine that when there is a presidential visit to Kumasi, or the North, time factor is very important and so the President probably prefers to fly; ‘time factor’ is a convenient excuse, anyway.

Earlier this week, travelling on the highway I saw signs that indeed some maintenance work has been done recently, as reported by the Daily Guide on July 9. Following a visit by Alhaji Collins Dauda, acting Roads and Highways Minister, the paper said, remedial works have started on sections of the road.

But maybe it is the remedial works that have now resulted in the dust storms on the bad patches as cars pass, making for dangerously poor visibility.

Well, as sure as night follows day, when it rains, the mud will take over the dust, both conditions equally bad for motoring. So, the bad sections need to be made permanently motorable, even if the promised ‘super-highway’ is coming.

Interestingly, the Suhum flyover which I believe was central to the road project, is now a bustling market, with a complementary lorry station (or is it vice versa?), as well as a drop-off point for articulated trucks delivering sacks of onions to their customers.

However, what has become of the hunt for private sector investors? When will we see the Nsawam-Suhum-Apedwa road fully rehabilitated and given a passenger-worthy certificate?

If the government requires annual roadworthy certificates for vehicles, why can’t passengers and motorists have reciprocal treatment? Why can’t the roads be worthy of passengers’ use?

Meanwhile, I think the Nsawam-Suhum-Apedwa section ought to have a health warning. There should be giant billboards at both ends with advice such as:

You are entering the Nsawam-Suhum-Apedwa section of the Accra-Kumasi (or Kumasi-Accra) highway, a particularly hazardous stretch. If you’re a pregnant woman, or someone with delicate health, please turn back and consult your doctor regarding advisability of the journey.

What offences, what crime, have those of us who have to use that road committed to be sentenced to such travel stress and risk, with no end in sight?