An incident that happened way back in
the late 1990s in Agona Swedru is what I would like to narrate as an
introduction to this piece of writing that probably has a tone of indignation
to it.
The people of Agona Swedru had had
enough. Power was almost always out. That was bad enough but the straw that
finally broke the camel’s back I think was the undignified manner in which
these ‘light outs’ were being carried out. No one ever bothered to tell any one
of the victims when the next eventuality was due. Things were burning up,
electrical appliances were being destroyed and let’s not mention the
perishables in the fridges and freezers.
One blessed day, a couple of
citizens, might have been the youth (I don’t know, I wasn’t there. I just heard
the news) stormed the ECG premises. I can’t remember if anyone got hurt but a lot
of properties were destroyed including the manager’s private car. (I heard the
manager ran and hid but like I said, can’t be sure). I was a kid then but I remember
distinctly that; no adult did I hear condemn what happened. Apparently, people
had truly had enough! What makes this story peculiar and a bit funny is that;
things actually did change after this incident and remained better for a long
time after that.
I don’t know what the situation is
today but I can tell you this is one story I relish telling. Well mob justice/
civil disobedience or whatever you might call it is wrong, however you slice it
but I just can’t muster up any shame anytime I narrate this story with glee.
There is a neighborhood around ‘Santa
Maria’ and ‘Awoshie Market’ in Accra called ‘Auntie Aku’. The roads within this
neighborhood are really bad (or were really bad). They are now worse. Somebody got
it into their head that plowing the roads will do the inhabitants any good and
now the better of the roads have been destroyed. I do not have any technical
expertise on road construction but could someone, please, anyone tell me the
reasoning behind plowing every road we deem unmotorable in Ghana and then
leaving it at that?
The roads have been plowed now, even
those that didn’t need plowing and added to the nuisance of having to wade
through mud if there should be any rain and the dust, a lot of pipelines have
been broken. Thousands of gallons of water just pouring away. Three days now,
and apparently, the man driving that monstrosity of a vehicle didn’t see fit to
report that he had damaged some pipelines.
I have heard at least six inhabitants
of the neighborhood express their displeasure at the state of things. Who decides
these things? Who decides what is relevant and irrelevant for a community? To whom
is the big fish (this time, the MP I suppose) accountable to. It most
definitely shouldn’t be the government but rather the people enjoying the
service. However, how is she supposed to be accountable if there is no ‘body’
to be accountable to? No organized group, nothing?
We love talk. Lots and lots of talk. We
sit around our homes and work places and bombard the presidency, yet the odds
are that John Mahama is more likely never to walk the streets of Auntie Aku
unless there is a meteorite shower. The one we can hold accountable is the one
we aren’t making any efforts to hold accountable.
TALK IS CHEAP…………………
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