Opinions of Friday, 10 February 2017

Columnist: Ghanaian Times

Let’s stop the indiscipline at the Kwame Nkrumah Interchange

Kwame Nkrumah Interchange Kwame Nkrumah Interchange

Few meters away from the premises of the New Times Corporation is the magnificent Kwame Nkrumah Interchange, built last year to ensure free-flow of vehicular and human traffic.

The three tier interchange is also expected to open up the country to its neighbours for improved trade.

Indeed, with the commissioning of the project, both vehicular and human traffic has eased considerably and completely changed the landscape of one of the busiest areas in Accra, the nation’s capital.

It is an undeniable fact that the 74 million euro project is a phenomenal infrastructural architecture, constructed by the Brazilian company, Queiroz Galvao Construction.

Apart from the construction of the interchange, a bus terminal, police station and other facilities have been provided to make commuting through the interchange easy.

Unfortunately, a walk through the interchange reveals that already there is a lot of indiscipline at the various points around the interchange, as depicted in the story carried in yesterday’s issue of The Ghanaian Times.

Traders have taken over pavements, which were carefully constructed as pedestrian walkways.

The activities of these traders are thus preventing the free movement of pedestrian through the interchange.

To make matters worse, some ‘trotro’ drivers and long distance buses are stopping in the outer lanes of the interchange to load passengers for various destinations.

This is in spite of the fact that, a ‘trotro’ station and a loading terminal has been built purposely for the drivers.

Any visitor to the Kwame Nkrumah Interchange will feel sad that discipline has broken down at the interchange.

The Times is appalled by the attitude of the traders and trotro drivers.

We wonder and continue to ask when we are going to respect the country’s laws, rules and regulations so that we can ensure sanity.

The disturbing spectacle at the interchange is shameful for the country that has spent so much to construct the edifice.

We cannot accept the current situation at the interchange and wish to call on the law enforcement agencies to move into the area and ensure sanity.

It is a shame that we pride ourselves as a middle-income country, yet we are unable to live up to that and behave as mature people.

The indiscipline must stop now.