What started as a small pothole has become a pond in front of Ernest Chemist close to the Newtown overhead.

The situation worsens by the day delaying the flow of traffic and destroying vehicle parts.

Citi News’ Caleb Kudah reported that “a water pipe that burst under the road three months ago, keeps eroding the road.”

According to Caleb, “several attempts to fix the pipe have yielded no results as technicians have failed to permanently rectify the anomaly.”

“The drivers are currently meandering their way through the potholes because of the deep holes.,” he added.

Some drivers who spoke to Citi News  also expressed their frustrations about the problem.

“It is really affecting our work. The potholes delay the flow of traffic. Most of the drivers have to slow down and navigate their turns and this causes traffic,” one driver complained.

The Ghanaian drivers are not the only ones affected by the development, Nigerian drivers in the same area also complained , saying the potholes had been there for almost three months now.

“The potholes have been here for like three months now. There is a burst pipe here which erodes the roads. It is slowing down business because most of the drivers do not want to come here because their tires will get burst and all that. It also causes delay and traffic. The Ghana Water Company came here to fix the problem but because they do not know what exactly the problem is, they are unable to fix it,” One Nigeria driver said.

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By: Marian Ansah/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Portions of Kwame Nkrumah Interchange develop potholes [Photos] appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

Pedestrian walkways at the Kwame Nkrumah Interchange in the heart of the city, have been taken over by hawkers turning the relatively congested walkway into what could be comparable to a busy market day in the Central Business District.

Motor riders who operate the  illegal ‘okada’ business, made nonsense of the by-laws of the AMA, while pickpockets had a field day.

Umbrellas are erected at every available space on the walkway, providing shed for brisk business. All manner of wares, second hand panties and braziers, shoes, mobile phones, herbal medicine, fruits and confectionary are up for sale. The situation compels pedestrians to struggle their way through the thick crowd of disorder.

It is so prevalent that Citi News spotted a man in a wheel chair selling mobile phone accessories.

Food joints are cashing in on travelers providing dishes of questionable hygienic conditions.

In the midst of all the chaos, heaps and spillages of refuse are seen all over the Kwame Nkrumah Interchange.

The police look on as commercial drivers especially, break traffic codes, parking at unauthorized spots, and sometimes jumping red lights. Traffic wardens are neatly uniformed standing at post, while some pedestrians walk on lawns and others run across the road in defiance of speeding on-coming vehicles.

Mentally derailed persons who could inflict harm on pedestrians with or without provocation registered their presence. Like every other day, beggars of all age groups pursue pedestrians for alms. Loud speakers blast unbearable decibels sound from preachers and music pirates.

With the onset of the rains, one cannot be sure city authorities are up to the task of safeguarding lives and properties as a promise as basic as keeping hawkers off the streets remains broken.

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By: Caleb Kudah/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Hawkers at Circle take over pedestrian walkway [Photos] appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

Some supporters of the NPP in the wake of their victory in last Wednesday’s polls, reportedly attacked some NDC supporters, vandalized some government installations including portions of the Fountain at the Kwame Nkrumah interchange.

The fountain, which is usually opened for public viewing during the day and night after its inauguration in November  2016, is currently not functioning.

Addressing the press on Thursday, National Chairman of the NDC, Kofi Portuphy, also lamented that further works on the interchange has come to a standstill because the workers were being attacked by NPP supporters and described it as shameful acts.

“…Shameful attacks on the contractor and workers at the Kwame Nkrumah Interchange popularly known as Dubai have brought the work to a standstill. The pity of it is the destruction of the colourful lights from the water fountain that flows to the admiration of all.”

Traders say facility is working

Meanwhile, some traders around the place told Citi News that the facility has been active all these while.

Some of them said it was even activated earlier today, Thursday.

The 74 million euros project was inaugurated by President John Mahama in November 2016 amidst a huge fanfare.

The project has among other things three flyovers, a colourful water fountain, library, bus terminal, fire, police and ambulance stations.

Defend yourselves – NDC charges members

Kofi Portuphy also has charged members of the NDC to defend themselves if they are attacked by NPP supporters.

“I am the leader of the party; I am saying if they attack them they should defend themselves while seeking police protection. They should not fold their hands for the NPP to butcher them to death,” he added.

Despite the claims, the NPP has accused the NDC of exaggerating these reports merely to court public sympathy and also to pain the President-elect, Nana Akufo-Addo as a violent person.

In most of the reported attacks, only few of them are being dealt with by the police. According to the police, some three persons have so far been arrested in the post-election violence cases across the country.

Attacks from NDC members

Meanwhile some angry NDC members disappointed in the party’s defeat, have reportedly been attacking some party executives and defeated MPs, who they blame for the party’s defeat.

A video has gone viral of an angry NDC member who stormed a party office in anger and threatened to beat up one of the national executives of the party.

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By: Godwin A. Allotey/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @AlloteyGodwin

The post NPP supporters have destroyed colourful lights at ‘Dubai’ – NDC appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

The hawkers who were cleared off the streets a few weeks ago, returned after the elections.

Some of the hawkers told Citi News’ Caleb Kudah that they have resorted to selling their wares on the pedestrian walkway because they do not have other options.

“We do not have spaces in the market. This is the only place where we can sell our wares.”

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By: citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post AMA clamps down on street hawkers at Circle Interchange [Photos] appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

President John Mahama inaugurated the three-tier interchange project which cost about 74 million euros on Monday.

But hawkers had prior to the inauguration taken over the spaces allotted for pedestrians to trade their stuff.

Meanwhile, the AMA has asked the hawkers to relocate or have their structures demolished.

Outraged by the directive some of the hawkers lamented in a Citi News interview that they were not given ample time to vacate the place.

“They were saying we shouldn’t sell by the roadside. They also told us who sell beyond the pavement has been asked to move our things. Today the AMA people were with soldiers. Now I don’t know where I will be going,” one of the hawkers said.

Another woman who has been selling in the area for the past two years complained that “just two days ago they came here and started throwing our things away without any information.”

“They said we should pick out things and go, our things are many and you can’t just be throwing our things you have to give us time. Some of us we don’t have money to rent a house so we have just erected some structures and manage to take care of our families. Now that this has happened how we can take care of our families,” she asked.

Pedestrians happy

But pedestrians are happy the hawkers have left the place but called on the AMA not to make the directive a nine day wonder.

“I think that it is in the right direction such that if the AMA is able to maintain it then residents would be assured of their walkway such that they are not pushed by the road where some people are knocked down by vehicles. What is important is their ability to sustain this effort so the hawkers don’t return. So I only pray that it is sustained,” a pedestrian said.

Another one appealed to AMA to find another place for the pedestrians.

“I am walking freely today here but the issue of hawkers has been a national problem for a very long time. So I think they should be confined in a particular place, they should be relocated, they shouldn’t be totally wiped off,” he added.

The Kwame Nkrumah interchange has three flyovers, a recreational facility, library, bus terminal, restaurant, fire, police and ambulance stations.

The project was funded with a loan from the Brazilian government and has been touted as one of the major achievements of the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC).

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By: Godwin A. Allotey/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @AlloteyGodwin

The post Nkrumah interchange: Hawkers angry over AMA’s ejection [Photos] appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.