There is no uniform commercial and social development going on in the twin-city Sekondi/Takoradi.
While Takoradi can boast a lot of business enterprises, hospitality facilities, a vibrant and busy central business district, Sekondi is full of dilapidated and very weak structures.
It has been stated in a bulletin of the Sekondi/Takoradi Metropolitan Assembly (STMA) that the assembly has improved its metropolitan services and strengthened the twin-city’s infrastructure base to make investors comfortable, to consolidate growth and development.
This may be true to some extent because of the good roads, security and accommodation for indigenes. There is indeed social harmony in the metropolis, but Sekondi is yet to attract due attention from investors.
It is interesting to note that when people are moving to Sekondi from Takoradi, they say they are going to Sekondi. On the other hand, when people are moving from Sekondi to Takoradi they say they are going to town.
This has dampened the spirit of many patriotic indigenes in Sekondi.
After the corporate world or non-governmental organisations (NGOs) have held their social programmes in Sekondi, they move all the participants to Takoradi for refreshments.
All the big banks in Sekondi have closed their branch offices there except the Ghana Commercial Bank (GCB) and Ahantaman and the Western Rural banks.
If one wants to eat, or have a business lunch one has to move to Takoradi as there are no restaurants, decent hotel accommodation and a good place for social activity in Sekondi.
The things that are really keeping the city alive now are the good roads that run through it. Besides these the town is virtually dead.
The sad aspect of the situation is that when a person is travelling from Accra to Takoradi, he/she will either alight at Sekondi College and board a vehicle to Sekondi or continue to Takoradi and then make a U-turn to Sekondi.
Many do not understand why after the completion of the Essipun-Sekondi road, the State Transport Company (STC) and other public buses refuse to pass through Sekondi.
Even late at night, one would either move on to Takoradi or risk alighting at the Sekondi College Junction to connect to Sekondi.
The public transport buses, especially the State Transport Company buses, do not pass through Sekondi. Many people are of the view that even if the buses would not use Sekondi as a loading point, they should pass through the town on their way from Accra to Takoradi.
Another sad aspect of it is that the Sekondi market has been overshadowed by the Takoradi central business district. While traders in the Takoradi market struggle for space, the Sekondi market has countless empty sheds, which are very dirty and weak, since they have been left unoccupied for many years.
The other things that keep Sekondi alive apart from the good roads are the Sekondi Prisons, the metropolitan assembly, regional administration, a few church buildings and other offices. Night life is conspicuously absent.
Many had wished that the multi-million dollar stadium that was built in place of the Gyandu Park would be in Sekondi, but, unfortunately, time was not on the side of the authorities and the site had to be shifted to Essipun.
Sekondi residents now desire that when investors come to the twin-city some of them would be redirected to Sekondi.
One resident, Mr Kojo Nkrumah, said: “I was shocked when a friend’s sister came to Sekondi with her friends. While the host was in Sekondi, the friends were checked into a hotel in Takoradi because there is no good hotel here in Sekondi, not even a restaurant.
“Takoradi is vibrant because it has all the offices, the good hotels, good night life, nightclubs and every worker or visitor who arrives in Sekondi through Takoradi would definitely find his or her way back to Takoradi because that is where the fun is.
Essipun, which came alive recently, is attracting all the attention from people, who want land to build or a place to live. There is a Regimanuel Estate in that small community with good roads, modern buildings.
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