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Residents of Jamestown, one of the biggest fishing communities in Accra, are demanding a development blueprint from politicians who want their votes.

This plan of action, according to them, must present quality education for their children, jobs for the thousands of unemployed in the community and generally, a better livelihood.

The people made these comments when Joy FM’s Super Morning Show pitched camp at the community as part of the station’s road shows across the country. The road show provides a platform for people to put expression to their views and concerns.

According to the residents it is only quality education that can spur the community’s development.

A woman who spoke to Joy News’ reporter Sammy Darko on the grounds of anonymity said the youth in the community simply do not want to work.

This drew a sharp reaction from the male folk who insisted the problem had been illiteracy and the lack of employable skills, and jobs.

But in the final phase of campaigns towards the December polls, they say politicians keep appealing for their votes. For them the politicians are only embarking on a vote-garnering spree in the community without recourse to a need to plan for them.

Many of the men in the community are unemployed. They blame this on politicians who they say tie available jobs to party affiliation.

According to them they find it difficult to accept job offers from any member of the other side of the political divide.

Although the residents would present an alphabet soup of comments and concerns, they would agree on one thing: that the community has poor sanitation.

They admit the filth in the area is as result of the careless attitude of residents.


Background
Jamestown which originated as a community that emerged around the 17th century British James Fort on the Gulf of Guinea coast, and became a part of Accra as the city grew.

A lighthouse, the Jamesfort Light, was built by the British at James Fort in 1871. Jamestown is now a fishing port populated primarily by the Ga, an indigenous people of coastal Ghana. It is also a tourist destination for those wishing to see the remnants of Accra's colonial past. The original lighthouse was replaced in the 1930s by the current Accra Light, which is 93 ft (28 m) tall with a visibility of 16 nautical miles (30 km).

Jamestown is one of the oldest areas of Accra and was heavily developed by the end of the 19th century. During the rapid growth of the city during the 20th century, Jamestown has become an area of a dense mixture of commercial and residential use.

Since World War II, a succession of plans to enhance the capital city have come with changes in government — some seeing improvements in Jamestown as a necessary part of the overall plan, and some treating such improvements as competing with the efforts to develop the central business district of Accra.

Jamestown has recently become the focus of international research and assistance programs regarding the health and socioeconomic issues of a dense urban population where the infrastructure and governmental regulation had been inadequate in providing for the needs and safety of its people. (Source: wikipedia)


Story by Fiifi Koomson