The Greater Accra Regional Minister, Linda Obenewaa Akweley Ocloo, has raised concern about the persistent theft and vandalism of streetlight infrastructure, describing it as a major setback to efforts to keep Accra well-lit and safe, especially during the festive season.

She said that although her office met its target of fixing 70 per cent of streetlights within her first 50 days in office, ongoing theft of cables and control systems continues to reverse the gains made.

“Just yesterday, when they went back to some areas, half of the lights were already off because of theft,” she said.

The regional minister raised the concern last Wednesday during a monitoring exercise in selected parts of Accra, following a week-long clean-up directive from the Ministry of Local Government.

The exercise covered areas within the Madina, Adentan, La Dadekotopon and Ayawaso West Municipal Assemblies.

In all the areas visited, the assemblies’ task forces were seen sweeping, clearing and painting road medians and also clearing gutters.

The monitoring was aimed at ensuring sanitation standards were being enforced and that assemblies were taking responsibility for keeping their jurisdictions clean and orderly.

Mrs Ocloo said that theft remained the biggest challenge, with vandals deliberately disconnecting monitoring systems and destroying cables to avoid detection.

“These people know the terrain. They disconnect the system and destroy the cables so the lights cannot be monitored,” she explained.

She appealed to the public to help protect government investments by reporting suspicious activities around streetlight installations.

“If you see someone roaming behind poles or doing something suspicious, don’t ignore it. You can arrest the person and send them to the nearest police station,” she urged.

She stressed that safeguarding streetlights was a collective responsibility essential for improving security, road safety and the overall outlook of the Greater Accra Region.

The Greater Accra Regional Minister also expressed worry about pedestrians’ disregard for footbridges, noting that many people still crossed busy roads despite the availability of safe crossings.

“We are begging citizens to use the footbridges. Even when they are available, people prefer to cross the road. Let us save lives, especially this Christmas,” she appealed.

She disclosed that district and regional police commanders had been tasked to intensify traffic control and enforcement to reduce accidents and congestion.

According to her, police personnel had been deployed across major roads to ensure smoother traffic flow and pedestrian safety.

On sanitation enforcement, the regional minister announced that task forces in the Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) would operate 24 hours a day, with shifts divided between day and night operations.

“We have directed the MMDCEs that if you have 100 task force members, 50 should work during the day and 50 at night,” she said, adding that some arrests would be carried out to serve as a deterrent.