Update: Calm returns to Ashaiman as police, military take over

Ashaiman is relatively calm as compared to earlier reports, TV3's reporter Komla Klutse has said.

Speaking on News in Brief on Monday, Komla observed that the police and the military have taken over security of the town.

On Monday, youth of the area as well as members of the Ashaiman Branch of the Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU) blocked the main Ashaiman-Tema Road preventing any vehicular movement as they protest the bad nature of the road.

This comes a few days after drivers in Tuba in the Ga South Municipality also blocked the main Tuba-Kasoa Road, also protesting the bad nature of that stretch and complaining it is destroying their vehicles.

Our Tema correspondent, Josephine Frempong, who was at the scene, says the youth cited delay in the construction of the 34-kilometer stretch of that Road.

The youth and the drivers think the awarding and re-awarding the road to contractors has yielded no results as work has not been ongoing, Josephine said.

Unfortunate situation

Josephine Frempong added that the Municipal Chief Executive of Ashaiman has promised to move the contractor to site for work to begin.

In a phone interview on News in Brief, Numo Adinortey Addison, the MCE, described Monday's incident as unfortunate.

"It is an unfortunate situation," he told Portia Solomon.

He assured that the contractor, as a result of Monday's protest, has been prevailed upon to move to site to pour laterite on the Road in order to make it readily motorable.

'Ghost town'

Security personnel are currently clearing the debris to open the roads to traffic, Komla Klutse said.

He reports that Ashaiman is now a ghost town as people can be seen nowhere. Some arrests have been made so far though the number cannot be confirmed.