Remembrance Day for the Cenotaph

A GNA Feature by Wilhelm Giatu

Ho, Nov 17, GNA - It was "Remembrance Day" for the Ho Cenotaph as it lay in its weedy grave yard for a whole year except on Remembrance Day, last Tuesday, November 11, when its presence and importance was acknowledged and edified.

Situated at the forecourt of the Volta Regional Health Administration (VRHA) under a canopy of flamboyant trees popularly called "durbar ground", the Cenotaph and its environs have become a sad symbol of neglect. Supposed to be an eternal reminder of the heroism of the gallant sons and daughters of ''our land and our great statesmen and women'', the cenotaph only portray a ridicule of the memories of the men and women who sacrificed their lives to win for us a heritage of nationhood and peace. Instead of being a protected and cherished site as is normally th e case with such monuments elsewhere, the Ho Cenotaph on the contrary offers a safe haven for those who have no-where to discharge their baggage of excreta, rubbish and criminality.

At night the tall grasses and flamboyant trees, which have engulfed the facility present a convenient place for criminals who waylay early morning travellers and women who venture to use the by-pass to get to the District Hospital or the staff quarters nearby. It is also a "zoo' for reptiles. The Ghana News Agency some few years ago asked the authorities of the Cenotaph why the place had been neglected and since then nothing had changed in the "life" of the commemorative plaque.

Enquiries from the Regional Co-ordinating Council, the Ho District Assembly and the Parks and Gardens Department only resulted in each of them passing the buck.

Certainly, the situation could not be allowed to remain the way it has been all these years and the local people should make initiatives to improve and preserve the cenotaph. The facility can no longer tarry on the Central government for a bail out.

However, as a first line of rescue, the lot also falls on the Ho District Assembly to designate the Department of Parks and Gardens to take up the beautification of the monument to befit its status.

The Ho District Assembly and the Regional Co-ordinating Council (RCC) should also adopt the Cenotaph as a regional monument and appeal to all other assemblies in the region to contribute to its maintenance.