Accra, 5 Sept., The decongestion exercise going on in Accra has been both commendable and instructive, a GNA survey of areas in the commercial hub of the city and other places have revealed. The main reason given by most people who commended the exercise is that apart from a few cases of people being beaten up or their wares being destroyed, it has been mostly free of violence compared with earlier exercises undertaken by the Accra Metropolitan Authority’s own operatives. They said their only regret is that no prior notice was given to the hawkers about the exercise. Others also hope that the exercise is not a nine-day wonder – – probably because of the PANAFEST. For a change, both pedestrian and vehicular traffic are moving smoothly throughout the heart of the city. Most pedestrians are happy about the fact that they can walk along the pavements without the fear of kicking a hawker’s wares and being set upon as a thief or stepping into an overflowing gutter. On the other side of the coin, Mr. Kofi Asamoah, a teacher, wondered where the Police had been all these years. ”The extent of lawlessness and congestion on our streets, urban roads and highways have resulted from the fact that the Police Service has shirked its major responsibility – policing, ” he said. ”Where were the police when their own barracks were being turned into markets and apprentice shops? ”Where were they when pickpockets were taking over Kwame Nkrumah Circle and the major footbridges in Accra? ”Did they ever notice teenagers in micro-minis prostituting around most of our major residential areas? ” Mr. Asamoah added. The survey revealed that people want more police action to check accidents and for more police presence in the neighbourhoods to protect both government and private property. ”The unnecessary deaths that occur daily on our roads are the result of human error – mostly bad maintenance of vehicles and ignorance of the highway code or very fundamental driving practices”, Mr. Asamoah said. ”Belated though it is, if the exercise results in the reduction of preventable accidents and the resultant deaths on our roads, it will be well worth the effort ,” he added. Another person, Joyce Djoleto, a retired nurse, wants more police presence in the neighbourhoods especially the new ones like Sowuotuom, Awoshie, North Legon and other places. ”Twenty-five years or so ago, one could call the police from the public telephone at the corner of the street and was sure that a policeman would appear within a quarter of an hour. ”Today, one would be lucky to find a policeman at the local police station if one drove there. Yet one is sure to find four or five sometimes up to six policemen and women at the barrier or check-point enthusiastically checking papers”.
