Ga Mantse Weeps

They’re Spoiling The City

In his maiden formal speech to the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) last Tuesday the Ga Mantse, Nii Tackie Tawiah III displayed the pain in his heart at what he considers the degrading of the city of his ancestors.

Virtually weeping, the King’s anguish was visible as he told the gathering of Accra’s authorities including Mayor Stanley Nii Adjiri-Blankson that he was going to muster his subordinate chiefs to support the AMA in salvaging the face of the city which today is anything but decent.

He particularly pointed at what he said is the indiscriminate littering of Accra at a time when facilities are provided gratis for households to dispose of their garbage. His visit to the Assembly on Tuesday was his first to the location since assuming the high office of Ga Mantse a few months ago.Nii Tackie Tawiah III expressed concern about the haphazard location of structures such as kiosks and metal containers, encroachment on open spaces earmarked for the development of markets, clinics and other facilities.

The King said he is aware that the city authorities are often met with resistance from belligerent youth and some residents anytime they attempt to bring sanity into the system. He assured the assembly that he and the Ga Traditional Council are ready to assist the Assembly in stemming the anomalies facing them in their work. Nii Tawiah expressed worry that the Assembly spends money they could have used for other productive use in removing illegally located structures in some parts of the city.

The Ga Mantse called on the Assembly to come out with a progressive policy on the proper management of waste. This he explained should see “residents both in the deprived communities and well-developed residential area contributing towards the huge cost in the management of waste.”He continued “I was saddened to realize after assumption of office that, most of the open spaces which were reserved for the development of schools, clinics etc had been encroached upon by some residents who had altered the purpose for which the spaces were left and built houses on them.”

The traditional ruler said he was more saddened that the offenders were important personalities who should know better. He promised to streamline of the processing of building documents with the assistance of his subordinate chiefs so that people won’t avoid regularizing such papers before putting up structures. Although the Assembly chalked accolades from a cross section of Ghanaians for decongesting the city, the sale of cooked food by the roadside he said is not good for the longevity of the facilities. The practice he added does not allow for easy access for vehicles since the sellers place their wares on their way and thus creating impediments.

He has therefore urged the assembly to extend the decongestion exercise to such places where cooking by roadside is undertaken. The ruler also bemoaned the closure of some access roads for funerals and other social events, noting that these create wanton inconveniences to other citizens. Nii Tackie Tawiah has appealed to the Assembly to liaise with the Ga Traditional Council to designate places and times, where these activities take place to forestall the inconveniences that road users and law-abiding citizens go through.

He urged all parents to take advantage of the capitation grant system by sending their children to school and to register with the National Health Insurance Scheme. He appealed to the Assembly to make good their promise of refurbishing the Ga Mantse’s Palace and to provide the Ga Traditional Council with a new bus and a 4-Wheel drive vehicle to service their activities. The Ga Mantse expressed gratitude to Nii Adjiri Blankson, the Mayor of Accra for what he said is his renovation of the Ga Mantse Palace and his availability anytime the traditional council wants to confer with him.