News
Blue Cresent residents raise concerns about flood, bad roads
Some floods in the area
Residents of Blue Cresent in the Katamanso Municipality of the Greater Accra Region have raised concerns about the effects of contin¬uous rainfall in the area which causes flooding on their roads.
Roads according to residents, are usually covered in water, making it difficult for vehicles to ply the roads.
That, they complained, had affected livelihoods as residents were unable to access transportation to carry out their daily activities within and outside the community.
Consequently, drivers had taken advantage of the situation to increase transport fares since they had to deal with the impact of the flooding on their vehicles.
In an interview with The Spectator, a motorist, Mr Kelvin Tamakloe, lament¬ed “it is difficult to ply the roads, and commercial drivers are affected by the flood. We find it difficult to use some roads due to potholes covered by the flood.”
He went on to highlight the damages these floods had caused their motor¬cycles adding that commercial riders spent their profit repairing damages on their motorcycles which consequently resulted in the increase in fares.
Thieves, he said, also took the op¬portunity to snatch bikes from riders due to the slow movements caused by the bad nature of the roads.
“Some drivers close very early to avoid being attacked at night, living commuters to their fate,” he stated.
“Transportation issues here are troubling and causing we commercial drivers a lot of hardship. We we spend so much repairing our vehicles than we save,” Mr Benjamin Kofi, a commercial driver said.
According to him, most of his col¬league drivers stopped loading to the community because of the bad nature of the road and concentrated on work¬ing in other communities.
A resident, Madam Diana Kaba said businesses were being affected by this situation since finding a vehicle to move around had become a problem.
“Uber and Bolt drivers do not accept any ride to the community because of the fear of damaging their vehicles. Movements of those who accept addi¬tional charges, most times our move¬ments are restricted especially when there is a torrent,” she said.
“We also have to depend on com¬mercial Kia drivers or private cars to convey us to our destinations when we sometimes stay out late, because most commercial drivers would not work when it is past 7 pm, and we have also lost trust in “okada” drivers because most of them have taken advantage of the situation to steal from us. They drop you somewhere quiet and rob you of your belongings,”she stressed.
With the benevolence of some mem¬bers of the community, some of the potholes had been partially fixed with a spread of sand and stones to improve the road conditions temporarily.
The Assemblyman for the area, Mr Samuel Abbrey, had not been left out of the frustrations as he said, “ I have my two cars at the fitting shop be¬cause of the bad nature of the road, it is something I am so much aware of which also affects me but it is beyond my control, I have spoken to the au¬thorities but all to no avail.”
According to the Assembly member, the government had turned deaf ears to their plights after several petitions and demonstrations.
Mr Abbrey said “if I say there is hope, I will be misleading you because there is no sign of hope, what I am seeing now is that, the government is trying to punish the whole of the Katamanso municipality. It is the central govern¬ment that is supposed to work on the road but there is no sign that the road will be fixed,” he stated.
Francisca Kaba
Ghana Institute of Journalism
News
NPP condems arrest of Okatakyie Afrifa Mensah
The New Patriotic Party (NPP) has condemned the arrest and detention of Okatakyie Afrifa Mensah by operatives of the National Security.
In a statement signed by the General Secretary, Justin Kodua noted that “This unlawful action by the marauding operatives of the National Security is the latest installment of the ongoing series of state-sponsored attacks on the media by the NDC government, in their desperate attempt to silence the media and curtail press freedom.”
According to the him, “The Party condemns in no uncertain terms this state-sponsored lawlessness and commends the many well-meaning Ghanaians who spoke loudly against this shameful conduct by the National Security. We also commend the young people and the team of lawyers who stormed the National Security Secretariat this evening to see to the release of the abducted journalist.”
“The NPP wishes to remind President Mahama and his government that the Ghana that was bequeathed to them on January 7, 2025, was a free country. It was the bastion of democracy, underpinned not only by the existence of functioning democratic institutions but also by our unflinching commitment to upholding press freedom as enshrined in Chapter 12 of the 1992 Constitution,” they added.
Read the full statement below
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MARCH 19, 2025
*NEW PATRIOTIC PARTY CONDEMNS THE UNLAWFUL ARREST OF VETERAN JOURNALIST, OKATAKYIE AFRIFA MENSAH BY NATIONAL SECURITY OPERATIVES*
The New Patriotic Party (NPP) condemns the unlawful arrest and detention by operatives of the National Security, of Okatakyie Afrifa Mensah, a veteran journalist, who has been critical of the John Mahama administration.
This unlawful action by the marauding operatives of the National Security is the latest installment of the ongoing series of state-sponsored attacks on the media by the NDC government, in their desperate attempt to silence the media and curtail press freedom.
The Party condemns in no uncertain terms this state-sponsored lawlessness and commends the many well-meaning Ghanaians who spoke loudly against this shameful conduct by the National Security. We also commend the young people and the team of lawyers who stormed the National Security Secretariat this evening to see to the release of the abducted journalist.
The NPP wishes to remind President Mahama and his government that the Ghana that was bequeathed to them on January 7, 2025, was a free country. It was the bastion of democracy, underpinned not only by the existence of functioning democratic institutions but also by our unflinching commitment to upholding press freedom as enshrined in Chapter 12 of the 1992 Constitution.
In line with this commitment, the country also went through the painstaking process of repealing the Criminal and Seditious Libel Law in 2001, a process that was spearheaded by the immediate past President, H.E Nana Addo Akufo-Addo, who was then the Attorney General of the Republic.
It is therefore completely repugnant and unacceptable for the John Mahama administration to be using State Security to intimidate political opponents as well as media personnel in a bid to silence all critical voices This, in fact, is an egregious affront to our democratic and constitutional tenets.
We call on the Ghana Journalist Association, the Media Foundation of West Africa, Civil Society Organizations, and all stakeholders to join us in demanding an immediate cessation of this tyranny and growing culture of state-sponsored attacks on the media.
Enough is enough.
…Signed…
JUSTIN KODUA FRIMPONG
GENERAL SECRETARY
News
We have built enough buffers to pay all DDEP obligations – Finance Minister Ato Forson
Finance Minister Dr Cassiel Ato Forson has assured banks that the government has built sufficient financial buffers to meet all Domestic Debt Exchange Programme (DDEP) obligations this year.
Speaking at a high-level meeting with over 22 Managing Directors of banks, he reaffirmed the government’s commitment to fiscal responsibility and restoring confidence in the financial sector.
“We do not intend to default,” Dr. Forson declared.
“All outstanding holdouts have been paid, and we have put in place the necessary buffers to ensure that every single DDEP obligation for this year will be met.”
The Minister explained that these buffers were created through fiscal discipline, strategic investment cuts, and prudent resource allocation.
As part of this approach, the government has reset goods and services expenditure to 2023 levels and is working to achieve a primary surplus of 1.5% to sustain economic stability.
He also announced plans to submit a fiscal responsibility rule to Parliament, which will set a debt ceiling that the Ministry of Finance cannot exceed.
This measure aims to prevent excessive borrowing and reinforce financial discipline.
Beyond ensuring timely DDEP payments, Dr Forson revealed that the government is taking deliberate steps to reduce reliance on the Treasury bill market.
By improving coordination between fiscal and monetary policies, the government aims to stabilize interest rates and ease liquidity pressures on the banking sector.
Source: Myjoyonline.com
