Editorial by Ghanaian Times: Prosecute negligence to keep public facilities in good shape!

Whoever has a good aesthetic sense would, no doubt, express worry about the eroded beauty of the Kwame Nkrumah Inter­change and its immediate sur­roundings, including the lawns, at Circle in Accra just seven years after its opening.

It was fanfare when the three-tier interchange was opened in 2016 and for its beauty and that of the surroundings, some people started calling the whole place ‘Ghana Dubai’, a mon­iker or nickname implying that the beauty at the place was akin to that of the coun­try Dubai.

Even though some people thought that description was a misnomer, others agreed it carried the impression of the beauty of the facility constructed to replace the Kwame Nkrumah Circle.

Going by that impression, many thought the city au­thorities and, for that matter, the government were going to preserve that beauty for a long time.

However, our lead story today paints a disappointing picture of the place and any­one visiting there would not be so happy with the current state of the area, which will be a confirmation of our description of the disorder there.

o us, the disorder at Circle or Ghana Dubai is a good example of how the country’s state institu­tions and officials look on unconcerned for state or public facilities to deteriorate before they come in to put them in order, for reasons best known to them.

Some of the deterioration goes to the extent that it be­comes better to replace the facility than renovate it.

Usually when the media finds out about the poor state of such facilities, some of them monuments in their own right, the relevant state officials are able to give reasons why one thing or another has not been done to pave the way for things to be put in order.

For instance, regarding the chaos at Circle now, the Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) for the Klottey Korle Municipal Assembly, Mr Samuel Adjei Tawiah, speak­ing on behalf of the assem­bly, gave cogent reasons why the current situation prevails. (See our lead story).

We cannot doubt the in­tegrity of Mr Tawiah, partic­ularly regarding the contin­gency of the reconstruction of the pedestrian market on the completion of what he calls the GARID project, but we believe dealing with the negative attitudes of mem­bers of the public must not wait.

Does the assembly not have rules and regulations regarding unwarranted activ­ities like noise-making and posting adverts and other notices in the public space?

We think the talk and inaction by public officials is becoming more than their actions to save the country some honour and avoidable expenditure.

One wonders why these officials are not proactive enough but always come in with all manner of excuses when confronted with prob­lems in their domains.

We haven’t forgotten, for instance, our publication in the latter part of 2021 that caused the Koforidua Jubilee Park to be renovated.

The point is that most of the time, it takes the media to cause important actions to be taken about keeping pub­lic facilities in good shape.

We think in the face of the situation, Parliament must enact a special legislation to deal with negligence of state officials, including prosecu­tion, to put these officials on their toes in nation building because their inaction or negligence is akin to causing financial loss to the state.