News
Hotel in vicinity of Kumasi Central Mosque? …Shop owners oppose move
A desire of the Assets Committee of the Kumasi Central Mosque (KCM) to demolish shops within the confines of the mosque has met a stiff resistance from owners.
The demolishing exercise is expected to pave the way for the reconstruction of a hotel and other shops to befit the new look of the area.
The mosque was renovated with support from the Vice President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia.
That left the responsibility of renovating the shops to reflect the new look on the committee.
But, the shop owners within the confines of the mosque at Akwatialine in Kumasi, have objected to the move, demanding compensation and citing the promotion of immoral activities.
According to the shop owners, the construction of a hotel may promote activities considered ‘haram’ (immoral and indecent to Islam).
A meeting held last Tuesday between the Assets Committee and the shop owners ended abruptly when the latter kicked against the exercise, saying that they would not move until they were paid compensation.
The Chairman of the KCM, Alhaji Ahmed Rashid Yakubu, when contacted stated that there would be no compensation for anyone.
He added that the promotion of immoral or indecent activities should not be the headache of the shop owners, adding that the KCM was capable of handling it.
This has generated a misunderstanding between the committee and the shop owners.
He admitted that somewhere in 1998, the owners of the shops were asked to use their own monies for the construction after which they should occupy for 10 years to defray the costs and hand over to the authorities of the Mosque.
He explained that some of the real owners have sold their stores and others have rented them out for about 25 years and paid nothing to the committee.
Alhaji Yakubu urged the store owners to cooperate with the Assets Committee so that they would work out how to get back their stores upon completion and not use force to stop the reconstruction process.
Spokesman for the store owners, Muntali Mohammed, on his part said they used their own money to build the stores when the place was in a bad state.
According to Mr Mohammed, all they needed was for the KCM to compensate them.
“We are not moving an inch, they should pay back our money used to construct the stores… we cannot let our monies go waste; we are prepared for any action,” he intoned.
From Kingsley E. Hope, Kumasi
News
Swallowed by the Sea! …Keta’s coastal lines, landmarks, efforts to preserve heritage
The Atlantic Ocean is no longer a distant blue horizon for the people of Keta.
It now circles around their doorsteps, uninvited, unrelenting, pulling down walls and other structures, erasing memories, and threatening lives.
Hovering precariously between the restless sea and the Keta Lagoon, this once-thriving coastal town is slowly being obliterated.
Salt water has become both a physical and metaphorical threat, dissolving the town’s past as fast as it claims its future.
Madam Aku Atitso, 62, lives in a crumbling former Prisons Service quarters – one of the few structures still standing on the eroded stretch of Queen Street.
She sits quietly at the entrance, preparing a modest breakfast for herself and her granddaughter.
The air is thick with salt and silence. “The sea took everything,” she says softly. “My husband’s nets, our mattress, our memories all gone overnight.” Her voice trembles. “This place too is dying. But it’s the last place with a roof over my head.”
A few metres away, Aunty Esinam, 79, watches the sea from a low stool beside a wooden shelter. Her eyes do not blink. “That spot,” she points, “used to be someone’s living room, a whole family lived there”.
It’s not just homes that are vanishing. Landmarks that anchored Keta’s cultural identity are disappearing one after another. The once-imposing Fort Prinzenstein, a haunting relic of the transatlantic slave trade is now more of a ruin than a monument.
the encroaching waters along Keta’s
coast.
encroaching waters along Keta’s coast
The colonial-era Bremen factory, the old cinema where generations of children once laughed at flickering black-and-white films is also gone.
Queen Street, once the town’s bustling backbone, is now a watery corridor choked with debris.
Standing atop a section of the sea defence wall, 69-year-old retired teacher Efo Kwasi Agbeko surveys what remains.
“The first police station is mostly gone,” he says, gesturing part of the building stuck in the sea sand, only ruins and a few rooms remain.
“This town is fighting, but the sea is winning,” he said.
Even the Cape St. Paul Lighthouse, Keta’s historic sentinel, leans perilously toward the water, and fishermen say holes in the shore are opening more frequently, sometimes every week.
That leaves a thick cloud of uncertainty hanging around the historic town of Keta.
Once upon a time, it was a vibrant town noted for business but currently left with ruins with a few of the residents watching in awe the sea’s devastation.
From: Geoffrey Kwame Buta, Keta, Volta Region
News
Ghanaians climax Easter with fun-filled activities
Christians around the world and other faith based groups last Monday climaxed the Easter celebration with a number of fun-filled outdoor and indoor activities.
With streets empty, fun seekers stormed church premises where picnics were held while others partied in many ways.
Others spent the day at the various beaches and music and film shows occupying the others.
velleyball competition
at the Laboma Beach
Church in Tema Community 8 engaged
in a number of activities including the
popular draught competition
At the churches, participants engaged in bible reading, football, volleyball, playing cards, table tennis, horse racing, bouncing castles, swimming and oware.
one of the picnic venues
Others played ludo, tag of war, lime and spoon, draught, music competitions among others.
The Spectator captured some of the exciting scenes around Accra-Tema for the benefit of readers.
Story & pictures by Victor A. Buxton
