No one in control of Accra's dark streets!

No government agency is responsible for the provision of streetlights in Accra. This is the conclusion reached by the Ghanaian Times after a series of interviews with Ministries of Energy, Local Government and Rural Development and the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA). They are all passing the buck.

Although the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) has been collecting levies through surcharges on all categories of consumers at the end of every month, it says that the money is not enough to maintain streetlights, not only in Accra, but also throughout the country.

When the Ministry of Energy was contacted on who was responsible for streetlights in Accra, an official referred the Times to the AMA because the issue had to do with the lighting system in the Accra Metropolis. According to the official, the Ministry was not responsible for streetlights. As far as he was concerned, the AMA would be in the best position to throw more light on the issue.

At the AMA, the Metropolitan Chief Executive, Mr S.O. Darko, could not be reached for his comment, as he was not in office when the Times called there at 10 am and 12 pm. A senior officer at the AMA, however, told the paper that the Ministry of Local Government was in a better position to answer the questions.

But at the Ministry, an official also referred the Times to the AMA. After he was told that AMA had been contacted earlier on and had referred the paper to the Ministry, the official stated that the Ministry had nothing to do with street lighting in Accra. Some members of the public interviewed on the issue accused the various agencies of neglecting their duties to the people.