Some parts of the Bolgatanga Municipality in the Upper East Region are plunged into darkness owing to faulty street lighting systems on major streets in the Municipality.  

Street lights on the major highway from the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) bungalows through the Regional library, Ministries, and the Regional Coordinating Council roads, among other suburbs in the Municipality, had been off for about a week.  

The Ghana News Agency (GNA), on monitoring the situation at about 2030 hours on Tuesday night (July 8, 2025), observed that the situation had affected the traffic light system in the Municipality.  

Traffic lights at the SSNIT and the GNA office road intersections, the Regional Police Headquarters, and of the library junctions, which were the only functioning traffic lights in the Municipality, were affected too.  

Those at the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC) and the Regional hospital junction, the road intersections at the Bank of Africa, Agricultural Development, and Maltaaba Community Banks, the stadium, and the Mobile Telecommunications Network (MTN) roads broke down several years ago.  

While at some intersections, the traffic lighting systems were in place and not functioning, others were completely broken and not found at their original locations.  

On road intersections at the GBC and MTN office junctions, for instance, the lighting systems, commissioned in 2020, were completely broken and displaced.  

The situation was causing congestion at the intersections, compelling motorists and pedestrians to meander their way through, especially on market days.  

In random interviews with the GNA, residents expressed concerns about the situation and appealed to authorities to fix the problem to prevent accidents at major intersections on the road.  

Ms Divine Grace Aneriba, a food vendor along the major highway, said: “My place is always dark. Commuters do not see the business I do, and that affects me a lot. I wish the authorities would immediately repair the lights for us.”  

Ms Aneriba’s appeal was not different from a pork seller and other food vendors along the same stretch of road.  

 “The darkness is not helping our business at all. We are appealing to the authorities to intervene,” the vendors said.  

Responding to the concerns of the residents, Mr Roland Atanga Ayoo, the Municipal Chief Executive (MCE), told the GNA that he acknowledges the challenges and explained that the issues affecting the streets and traffic lights in the Municipality were twofold.  

“The first installation was done by a Contractor who does not live in the region. He happens to come from the Upper West Region and is the only one with the technical knowledge on the installation. And so anytime he is not readily available and there are problems, they last for a long.  

“When residents see that at a particular period, there is a longer duration in which the street lights are not working, it means that it was not possible to get the Contractor,” Mr Ayoo explained.  

He further indicated that electricity connectivity also accounted for the malfunctioning lighting system, “So when there are transformers or electrical problems in certain areas, it also affects the street and traffic lighting systems.”  

According to him, some of the affected street lights were not necessarily a result of direct malfunction of the systems, but resulted from electrical problems.  

The MCE said the Assembly was working to engage a resident Contractor in the Municipality with the technical know-how to fix the problem soon.