Old Fadama, Agbogbloshie to get social amenities
The government is to provide some social amenities such as places of convenience, public bathrooms and a lighting system for residents of Old Fadama and the Agbogbloshie Market in Accra.
The Vice-President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, said the provision of the amenities was a deliberate effort by the government to improve the living conditions of the people living in those communities.
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The facilities would include four eight-unit places of convenience, 20 four-unit bathrooms, street lights, water, a kindergarten, as well as laying of pavement blocks at the Agbogbloshie Market, he said.
The Vice-President announced this when he visited the communities yesterday.
Purpose
The visit was to reinforce the commitment of the government to improve the lot of the people, as well as those living in deprived communities and slums.
Dr Bawumia said the relationship between successive governments and that of the people living in those communities was that of mistrust resulting from threats of ejection and leading to the neglect of the people.
He said the people needed to be supported, since they were as important as all other Ghanaians.
He said the settlements at Old Fadama were a reality, for which the government had to make deliberate efforts to provide the people with the basic necessities of life.
Arrival
Earlier in the day, New Patriotic Party (NPP) supporters, some traders and residents of Old Fadama had converged on the intersection at the
Central Mosque at Abossey Okai to give Dr Bawumia a rousing welcome.
The Vice-President was accompanied by the ministers of Zongo and Inner Cities Development, Dr Mustapha Abdul-Hamid; the Interior, Mr Ambrose Dery; Defence, Mr Dominic Nitiwul; Water and Sanitation, Ms Cecilia Dapaah, and Local Government and Rural Development, Hajia Alima Mahama.
Others were the Chief Executive of the Accra Metropolitan Assembly, Mr Mohammed Adjei Sowah; the Parish Priest of the Christ the King Catholic Church in Accra, Rev. Father Andrew Campbell, and some NPP functionaries.
Scrap dealers
Dr Bawumia first made a stop at the technical training centre for the Old Fadama Scrap Dealers Association, which also has a health post and a football pitch, where he interacted with the staff.
Against the backdrop of deafening cheers, the tooting of horns, drumming, dancing and motorcycle display, the security detail of the Vice-President had a hectic time controlling the crowd.
The team later converged on a makeshift community centre where they addressed the people.
Dr Bawumia gave an assurance that the government would give the community a facelift and mentioned the asphalting of the main Agbogbloshie road.
At the Agbogbloshie Market, the Vice-President interacted with the leadership of yam sellers and traders.
Appreciation
A spokesperson of the residents of Old Fadama, Ms Nafisa Ziblim, said the slum had a population of more than 120,000, many of whom had been forced to come there because of conflicts and poverty in the northern part of the country.
She appealed to the government to help improve conditions in the slum and expressed appreciation for the creation of the Zongo and Inner Cities Development Ministry.
