KWEIKUMA ESTATE RESIDENTS CRY FOR STREETLIGHTS (Page 25)

Story: Moses Dotsey Aklorbortu, Kweikuma

Residents of the Kweikuma Estate are appealing to the Shama Ahanta East Metropolitan Assembly to see to the maintenance of the streetlights in their community.
The streetlights from the High Court Junction to the court premises and to the community are all not functioning.
The only illumination in the community at night results from the flashes of light from various homes and this makes it dangerous to move about at night. There have been some reported cases of the presence of thieves, who operate under the cover of darkness in the vicinity. The streetlights are hanging on electricity poles on the shoulders of the streets at the estate, but the bulbs are either non-functional or the system is not working.
The area that looks more dangerous is the bypass from the Sekondi-Takoradi road towards the Sekondi High Court to the estate.
This area is very bushy, dark and isolated because there are no houses at the sharp curve.
The junction to the estate is bushy and very dark in the evenings.
According to the residents, initially they contributed to make the streetlights functional but the proceeds from the contribution were allegedly misappropriated, thus discouraging them from achieving that objective.
That aside, the community members said any time SAEMA provided the lights, some unidentified people either broke the bulbs or stole them and then plunged the area into darkness so that they could operate in the dark.
They said their attempt to contribute towards the provision of the streetlights in the estate was informed by the attacks on people at the bushy entrance to the community.
“We will be happy if the Assembly installs some streetlights at the junction to the high court from where one branches to the estates.
It would interest you to know that you cannot send your child out even at 7 p.m. because the place is so dark,” they said.
When contacted, the Public Relations Manager of Shama Ahanta East Metropolitan Assembly, Mr John Laste, said he would not doubt the existence of lamp holders without power running through them.
He said work had started on the rehabilitation of the streetlights in the central business area and work would be completed before moving to the various communities.
“We at the assembly have taken the trouble to move in the night to see the situation for ourselves and we would have wished to tackle the problem immediately but because it involves huge capital outlay we have to tackle one project at a time,” he said.
He said apart from the complaint from the Kweikuma Estate residents, some parts of the metropolis were also experiencing similar problems and “it is our hope that with time we will cover all areas”.