Sunyani - A Star in the Dark

Sunyani, Dec. 7, GNA - "Wow! What a scene!" This writer exclaimed as he stood atop the imposing six-storey COCOBOD building in the centre of Sunyani, the Brong Ahafo regional capital, and lowered the head to view the dual carriageway leading from the city centre to the main trunk road to Kumasi.

The beautiful scenery created by the streetlights bemused him for several minutes. Colourful reflections along the street added beauty to the already beautiful scene of the city. The picturesque scenery is replicated on the other side along the Sunyani-Berekum road running across the frontage of the Regional Administration Offices.

Sunyani at night can be compared to any other urban centre in the world of today. The Municipality is endowed with all the characteristics and facilities obtained in a modern city - internet cafes; casinos; schools, a university; a polytechnic; exquisite hotels; hospitals; an airport; social centres; banks and nightclubs among other facilities. The time was 1915 hours and a good number of workers whose offices are located within the COCOBOD building had closed and left for their homes. Stunned by the scenery, what ran through the mind of this writer was the gloomy picture that many Ghanaians, who had not visited the Municipality, had painted about Sunyani.

Having spent the greater part of one's youthful life in Accra, the national capital, with stints at Winneba in the Central Region as a Radio Reporter, this Writer had grown to become part of those, who perceived Sunyani as a growing rural town. The prejudice was so much that this writer had a though time deciding whether to accept an appointment the GNA offered to him to work at its Sunyani Office.

The last time he had visited the city was about 18 years ago when his father was a Military Officer at the Liberation Barracks of the Three Garrison. Sunyani has indeed come a long way since then. It has made significant progress in all facets of development.

Sunyani has not only undergone drastic structural changes, as businesses have also sprung up at every corner of the Municipality with commercial activities booming.

As a regional capital, it is expected to be the nerve centre of Brong-Ahafo, but unfortunately it can hardly live up to this tag. It has lost this status to towns like Techiman and Kintampo, due to vibrant commercial activities, which attract traders from neighbouring countries including Burkina Faso and Niger.

One of the numerous evidences that attest to the extent of the Municipality's physical transformation is the all time outstanding monument - the gigantic COCOBOD building, which also doubles as the tallest concrete edifice in the Region.

It is, therefore, not strange that the picture of the multi-purpose edifice appears on postage stamps.

Constructed during the National Redemption Council Regime of General Ignatius Kutu Acheampong, the building is the first fascinating spectacle on reaching Sunyani. It houses several offices and companies that transact a wide range of businesses.

Sunyani boasts of first class roads, which are interlaced with other access roads leading to the city's major commercial points. The city's streets are usually wide and generally kept clean in generally good environmental conditions and a serene atmosphere.

The Municipal Assembly's commitment to the proper organization of Sunyani was given a thumbs-up by the Netherlands Ambassador to Ghana, Mr Arie C. A. Van Der Wiel, when he paid a courtesy call on the then Regional Minister, Nana Kwadwo Seinti in September 2005. As he shook hands with the Minister the Ambassador remarked: "Sunyani is a beautiful and a well organized city."

Another interesting aspect of the Municipality's life is the tremendous growth in the hospitality industry. There are more than 150 hotels and guesthouses in the Region and Sunyani boasts of a chunk of it. It has two and three star hotels, which include the plush Eusbett Hotel; Hotel De Jet; Tropical Hotel and Regent Hotel and Resorts that are striving to rub shoulders with well-established ones in the national capital, Accra.

Visitors to Sunyani are often fascinated and amazed at the sight of the beautiful hotels and modern infrastructure. It, therefore, came as a big surprise and a huge blow to people in the Region when it was realized that the Municipality had been excluded from the list of selected towns where new stadiums were to be constructed for the 2008 Africa Cup of Nations (CAN 2008) soccer fiesta. Sunyani was initially selected among the list of cities to host the tournament but Tamale, the Northern Regional capital, was given the nod instead.

Many believe the construction of the stadium could have added extra beauty and a touch of class to its already captivating landscape. There has also been a massive upturn in the socio-economic life of the people, with the implementation of some prudent Government policies on education, health and other sectors, which have increased employment and brought significant positive changes in the lives of the majority of the residents.

The residents were visibly in the doldrums some 15 years ago, as a result of lack of education, lack of employment and inaccessibility to good health.

The private sector is also gaining significant steady growth with the increasing spectacle of erection of miniature canopies dotted across the Municipality, notably those owned by hairdressers and other small-scale entrepreneurs, who operate in small confinements, cut out from the main business centres.

Their canopies are usually made of metal bars, which are neatly fenced with free-flowing material, creating simple working space. Generally, residents assess their current standard of living under highly objective lens.

Mr Joseph Anane, unemployed, who arrived in Ghana after spending some 12 years in Israel acknowledges Sunyani's tremendous fast pace of development.

"I have a plot of land that I now farm on and I'm able to look after my family by selling some of the maize. There are now new buildings around. People are building new houses in Sunyani", he added. The youth are not left out in this forward march in modernity, as the sense of appearing pretty and looking trendy in fashionable clothes is not lost on them.

Most of them parade the principal streets displaying the latest designer wear, regardless whether their physique or body contours fit in.

Joyce, a 22-year-old apprentice hairdresser, a victim of circumstances, said she usually put on a "Show Your Stomach" attire just to match her jeans trousers.

"I don't mind the exposure it may cause my body, I only wear this to match my jeans down", she adds nonchalantly. Many others say they wear these trendy dresses "just to keep them trendy".