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Cleanest city a mirage until we get our planning right

About ten years ago while on a company bus travelling towards Accra from Awutu Senya, I made an observation and commented on it to a colleague sitting beside me on the bus.  I observed that structures had sprung up and covered a wide area such that the Kasoa I knew, had grown into a big suburb.  The discussion that ensued between me and my colleague led to the long held view that there is a serious lack of planning of our suburbs, towns and cities.  In fact, there is no serious effort in ensuring that the layouts displaying demarcations set out in plans submitted to the Town and Country Planning Department for various areas by land owners are strictly enforced. The result is a haphazard development which impedes the execution of the planned layout for the area and therefore ultimately results in slums and makes supply of essential services to such places a nightmare.

There is a stretch of road that gets flooded anytime there is heavy rain for a considerable length of time. It lies between the traffic light on the main Kasoa-Accra highway going from West Hills Mall towards Accra and the traffic light at Atta Mills Link. This prevents motorists from using that stretch when there is flooding, creating a heavy traffic jam for motorists travelling from Kasoa towards Accra.  After the floods have subsided, the road gets littered with all kinds of rubbish and mud and it is just ‘disgusting’ for want of a better word.  The cause of this flooding is simply the filling up of the wetlands along that stretch for construction of buildings. When the run off which ordinarily should have been trapped by the wetlands cannot find any resting place, it is left with no option than to flow into the narrow drains created. These narrow drains cannot contain the volume of the run-off and so it overflows into the street causing the floods.

There is a perennial lack of resources in this country which require that budgetary support is sought each year from our foreign development partners.  The President has come out with the idea of a ‘Ghana Beyond Aid’ and to this end, every effort must be made to ensure that wastage in the system is eliminated. It is the responsibility of government to provide utility services to residential areas through agencies like Electricity Company of Ghana and Ghana Water Company Limited. When the projected revenue falls short of the projected expenditure, the government is left with no choice than to seek additional funds, usually through borrowing. When the spread of development in terms of estate residential areas is very broad, the cost in extending these services is astronomical which increases government expenditure and will impact negatively on our economy.

Agricultural development forms an integral part of this drive to generate resources and hence availability of land becomes a key issue. However, the way land is being given out to estate developers and individuals for residential purposes is a worrying situation and must be addressed. When ‘Operation Feed Yourself’ was launched in 1972, individuals bought into the idea and started miniature farms in their backyards. Schools also initiated farming projects and the enthusiasm for farming was at its peak all across the country. There was a bumper harvest across the country. Bumper harvest translates into extra revenue for the country and if there is value addition through processing, the revenue gets much bigger.

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It is estimated that the country needs over 1 million housing units to satisfy the housing requirement of the nation and therefore there is some justification for the release of land for building purposes. However, there must be efficient use of available land since land is not inexhaustible. There is a population growth on the average of about three percent which means that if an efficient planning of land use is not initiated, a time would come when there will not be land available for other uses. 

Land economy should be given the needed attention and one of the ways to achieve this is by putting in place a policy of maximising usage of land.  When individuals acquire land and develop them, ten plots of land would have only ten flats.  A high rise building on a plot of land can easily contain these ten flats leaving the remainder for other purposes. Again, the cost of supplying utility services to the individual apartments would be minimal compared to extending same to ten different apartments on different plots of land.

Modern markets like the Kaneshie Market should be the kind of market that should be established. Such markets would provide the requisite infrastructure that would enable rubbish to be appropriately handled such that the immediate surroundings of the market would be clean.  Foodstuffs would also be handled well so that contamination would be reduced to the barest minimum. All these would contribute to a clean city which has a direct link to productivity.

The role of town planning officers is critical and no effort should be spared in ensuring that they are provided with the necessary resources to effectively execute their job.  Effective systems should be established such that building permit acquisition becomes easier.  This would provide motivation for people to get town planning involved in the putting up of structures so that buildings are not erected in waterways to create environmental problems like flooding etc. The current system for land registration is better but there is more room for improvement. The inspection role of town planning officers must be improved so that wrong siting of structures would be eliminated completely.  Again, when structures are properly sited, disaster management cost would be reduced, resulting in savings that can be utilised in other sectors of the economy and the government would not have to borrow.

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There must be a conscious effort to ensure that our drains are covered and the necessary studies are conducted to determine the size of drains that would be able to contain the volume of water that would flow through it without overflowing. Provision must be made for tunnels under the roads through which cables can be passed from one side of the road to the other to preserve the designed life of our roads.  The Motor Traffic and Transport Department (MTTD) must ensure that vehicles do not spill oil on our roads so that the life of our roads would be preserved and also prevent our streets from being dirtied.

Laud Kissi-Mensah

(The Average Citizen)

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Features

Emotional distortions: The hidden barriers to mental well-being

Emotional distortions are twisted or irrational thought patterns that can have a profound impact on our mental health and well-being.

These distortions can lead to negative emotions, unhealthy behaviours, and strained relationships.

In this article, we will explore the types, causes, and consequences of emo­tional distortions, as well as strategies for overcoming them.

Types of Emotional Dis­tortions

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1. All-or-Nothing Thinking: Seeing things in absolute terms.

2. Catastrophising: Exag­gerating potential conse­quences.

3. Over generalisation: Making sweeping conclu­sions based on limited evidence.

4. Mind Reading: Assuming others’ thoughts or inten­tions.

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5. Emotional Reasoning: Believing emotions reflect reality.

6. Should Statements: Imposing unrealistic expec­tations.

7. Labelling: Assigning negative labels to oneself or others.

8. Personalisation: Taking things too personally.

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Causes of emotional dis­tortions

1. Childhood experiences

2. Trauma

3. Stress

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4. Social learning

5. Cultural influences

6. Genetic predisposition

Consequences of emo­tional distortions

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1. Anxiety and depression

2. Relationship conflicts

3. Low self-esteem

4. Impaired decision-mak­ing

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5. Substance abuse

6. Physical health prob­lems

Overcoming emotional distortions

1. Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy (CBT): Identifying and challenging distortions.

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2. Mindfulness: Practising self-awareness.

3. Self-Reflection: Exam­ining thought patterns.

4. Journaling: Recording and analysing thoughts.

5. Seeking support: Con­sulting therapists or support groups.

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Strategies for Maintaining Mental Well-being

1. Practice self-compas­sion.

2. Engage in physical activity.

3. Cultivate social connec­tions.

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4. Prioritise sleep and nutrition.

5. Seek professional help when needed.

Conclusion

Emotional distortions can have a profound impact on mental health, but they can be overcome. By recognis­ing and challenging these distortions, individuals can develop healthier thought patterns, improve relation­ships, and enhance overall well-being.

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_References_

– Beck, A. T. (1977). Cog­nitive Behavior Therapy.

– Burns, D. D. (1999). The Feeling Good Handbook.

– American Psychological Association. (2022). Cogni­tive-Behavioral Therapy.

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By Robert Ekow Grimmond-Thompson

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Where are we rushing to?

Sometimes you wonder what is going on especially the period before Christ­mas, in terms of the road incidents.

Yesterday, heading towards town, on my way to lay a wreath on my late wife’s grave, on the anniversary of her burial, I saw cars ahead of me suddenly indicating that they want to move into the middle lane from the inner lane.

I then saw, as I inched along, the reason for moving into the middle lane. Appar­ently an Uber vehicle had hit the side of a Mercedes Benz car and they were arguing and trying to sort things out.

It was apparent that the cause of the incident was due to rushing to get ahead of the Benz. A few moments of pa­tience from both drivers could have avoided that incident.

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It just does not make sense that you are in so much of a hurry that you could not let reason prevail for one of you to exercise restraint, to allow the other vehicle to pass and now both of you are wasting precious time on the road, the very thing you were trying to avoid in the first place.

There is another aspect that is related to this rushing that has to be addressed. People are no longer willing to show empathy with others, such that for a driver to pause for another driver to pass to join the traffic or to cross to the other lane is becoming non-existent these days.

We seem to be selfish in most cases which then caus­es drivers to rush to join the traffic after waiting and waiting without any one giving him or her the opportunity to move to join the traffic. I was tempted to be callous by ignoring vehicles that wanted to cross from my right to join the opposite traffic coming from the Ghana Law School entrance toward Tema Sta­tion, earlier this week due to the behaviour of some drivers toward me.

However, I remembered that I was a Christian and a higher standard of empathy is required of me, so I paused for them to cross from the exit point of the filling station to join the traffic going in the opposite direction.

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I nearly knocked down two people earlier this week due to their lack of safety I suppose or is it a lack of focus on the streets. I think safety education needs to be inten­sified because of what hap­pened on Monday.

How on earth would anyone attempt to cross a road, in front of a vehicle when a traf­fic light has just shown green? It really beats my imagination but that was exactly what happened and how I did not kill her, is attributable only to divine intervention.

Shortly before this incident, I had narrowly avoided hitting another person, who also crossed in front of me when I was about to join a main road with traffic coming from my left side so I was focused on my left side.

A vehicle was ahead of me and so was waiting to move as soon as it moves. The vehicle moved and just as I was about to follow, this young lady just showed up at my right fender and again I would say it was only by divine intervention that she escaped either seri­ous injury or even death.

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The level of selfish con­siderations in the country is becoming alarming by the day and it is something that must be addressed. The normal Ghanaian attitude of toler­ance towards each other is now gradually vanishing from our society and is very worry­ing.

People are becoming much more inward looking and if something is not going to ben­efit him or her, they are just not interested. There are a few people who still do what is right and they should be commended to continue the good works.

My advice to my fellow Ghanaians is that, let us stop this rushing when we are driving especially as Christ­mas is approaching so we can save ourselves from avoidable incidents. God bless.

By Laud Kissi-Mensah

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