The Independent

Mixed reaction over tidying-up of Accra

The paper says while for many residents of Accra the arrival of thousands of visitors into Ghana for the 5th African-African-American Summit is welcome news, others have queried the speed at which local authorities have been trying ?to put on a clean face? for outsiders, especially during

conferences and summits. The Independent quotes Abena Rebecca Amankwa, who sells shoe, polish as wondering why ??it has to take visitors before we clean up the system??.

The paper says Abena had fallen victim to cane-wielding ?machomen? last Tuesday. According to the paper, her viewpoint is similar to what some other residents had said on the new wave that seems to have taken over the city.

The Independent says, unlike Abena, whose mindset is against the attempt at linking clean-ups to foreigners, Kwame Ampofo, a shoe vendor, said he saw nothing wrong with ??cleaning up the city?s act??. According to him, if the coming of visitors will always get the city authorities to act, hen ??I pray t hat we get a high level conference in Ghana every month??.

The Independent says frantic efforts have been set in motion to clean the façade of Accra to make it fitting to host such an august gathering.

It says certain streets have had their pavements and kerbs cleaned and painted, while a number of flowerpots have sprung up in the city. IN addition, the paper says, a number of rubbish bins have appeared on the roadsides of the city, especially around the Novotel Hotel.