Ghanaians need befitting roads not befitting burials - Radio presenter

A radio presenter in Sunyani, Ms Melvina Frimpong Manso has stated that Ghanaians need befitting roads and not befitting burials for the nation to derive maximum benefit from the contributions of its professionals.

She therefore appealed to the responsible state entities like the Ministry of Roads and Highways as well as the Departments of Urban and Feeder Roads to be alive to their responsibilities “to fix the deplorable, death-trap roads in the country for us”.

Ms. Frimpong Manso, the host of “Urban Breeze” and “Showbiz 971” programmes of the Suncity FM, a Sunyani-based Radio Station made the call in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) on Sunday in Sunyani about the sudden demise of Ms. Priscilla Opoku-Kwarteng, a.k.a Ebony Reigns, a talented Ghanaian music icon.

The popular female artiste called Nana Hemaa by her mother and relatives would have celebrated her 21st birthday on Friday February 16, 2018.

But she was involved in a road crash at Nyamebekyere, a farming community between Abesewa and Nsuta, Ashanti Region on the Sunyani-Kumasi highway on the night of Thursday, February 8, 2018.

The singer and two other victims, including a military personnel were on board a four-wheel jeep vehicle with registration number AS 497-16 from Sunyani towards Accra to enplane to the United States of America to perform a show when the vehicle had a head-on collision with a KIA VIP bus heading towards Sunyani from Accra.

Ms. Frimpong Manso added that Ghana needed car-worthy, crash-free and safe to drive on roads to prevent avoidable road crashes to save lives and property, else the nation might be losing its human resource of diverse innate qualities and talents that were critical for accelerated national progress.

She lamented that the unexpected death of Ebony “is very sad because we have lost an icon and someone who would have put Ghana’s name on the world music map”.



Ms. Frimpong Manso, also the Head of Marketing of Suncity Radio Limited bemoaned that the crash could have been prevented if the road had been fixed but due to someone’s negligence the unexpected sad event had happened.

Ebony died with two others but why is it that only her name is being mentioned in talking and questions about the crash, she quizzed?

Is it because Ebony was seen as great Ghanaian asset in the music industry, Ms. Frimpong Manso asked, but added that the two other victims were also Ghanaians of particular importance to the nation and their respective families.

Nobody knows how many ‘Ebonies’ have died on that spot, hence she appealed to the government and the Police Administration that if investigation about the crash had not been commenced, that must be done immediately as a matter of national security.

Ms. Frimpong Manso suggested the investigation should focus among others on who was the road contractor that had the contract to fix that portion of the road, how long had the sand been deposited there and not on the pedestrian walkway by the road.

She stressed the need for the investigation by team, probably consisting of experts from the Motor Traffic and Transport Department of the Ghana Police Service and Ghana Road Safety Commission because, allegedly “the driver of the Jeep is saying something different and the bus passengers are also saying something else”

It is in this regard that investigation must be done for the facts about the crash to come out, Ms. Frimpong Manso appealed.