Saeed Zakari spent more than GH¢20,000 building his shop in Tafo Zongo in the Ashanti Region. The structure has now been cleared to make way for a new road.

The exercise is taking place along a designated road corridor that had remained undeveloped for years, allowing shops, apartment extensions and other structures to be built along the route.

The proposed road will cover about 800 metres. A school and mosques are also among the structures affected. There is no available figure for the number of households affected.

For Mr Zakari, losing his shop has come at a cost. But he now believes the project will benefit the community.

“I've been affected because getting the whole set of my shop has cost me a lot. It cost me almost GH¢20,000 and above. From the beginning, we thought it was going to hurt. But upon pondering, we've seen that it's going a long way to help the community.”

The lack of a road has made it difficult to move sick people from some parts of the community, while business has also been slow. Mr Zakari expects the new road to improve access and bring more customers to the area.

“If somebody falls sick and we want to send the person to the hospital, we have to carry the person all the way to the main street. Now that I see the street is coming, it's going to pave a way for the economy to open, for people to patronise my item.”

Residents support the exercise

Ibrahim Hussain says vehicles struggle to reach some parts of the Zongo, particularly during emergencies.

“When you come, a tricycle cannot even come in here, so how much more a car? In case something happens now, we cannot get a road to pass because the place is crowded.”

He supports the exercise and wants it extended to other parts of the Zongo.

Yussif Sumaiya says some areas behind his home cannot be reached by vehicles.

“Just behind us, a car cannot go there. So if something is happening, then by the time we have access to the place, that particular thing would have already happened.”

He is also appealing to young people not to confront officials during the exercise.

“To the youth, don't go and say something that will bring an issue for you, because if this thing is done, it will help us.”

Assembly clears road corridor

The Municipal Chief Executive of Old Tafo, Abubakar Sadiq, says the exercise is part of efforts to improve planning and mobility and reduce traffic on the Tafo-Mampong road.

The Assembly's special planning committee identified encroachments on the community's right of way in parts of the Santan, Baba Chibsah and Adompom electoral areas.

“As part of the effort to ensure proper spatial planning, enhance mobility and also lessen the traffic situation on the main Tafo-Mampong road, we saw that most of the buildings had encroached on the community's right of way. So there was a need for us to make sure we demolish them so that we open up the area for future construction of the road.”

Mr Sadiq says the boundaries were marked about a month before the exercise and residents cooperated with the Assembly.

The exercise involved the Assembly, military, police and other security agencies.

He says opening the road corridor will also improve access during emergencies.

“The essence of today's exercise is that it comes as a relief to the residents because whenever there's a disaster or an emergency, they find it difficult accessing the road. I recall there was a time when a woman who was going into labour, because there was no access, lost her life.”

The MCE thanked traditional authorities and residents for cooperating with the exercise. Some property owners had removed their structures before the Assembly's team arrived.

He says the Assembly intends to continue clearing encroachments on designated community rights of way.

“We started giving the announcement on Friday, and when we came here today, most of them had removed their structures from the encroached area. So I wouldn't say we are under pressure at all. You can see the atmosphere. They themselves are happy with the project.”

Road construction to follow

The clearing is expected to be followed by construction of the road. The procurement process will involve advertising the project, evaluation and the award of a contract.

The MCE expects the contractor to mobilise to the site within about one to two months after the procurement process is completed.

Municipal Urban Engineer Ebenezer Asante says the project is expected to take about six months to one year to complete.

“The procurement process will take like one or two months to finish. From the procurement process, the contractor will have to move to the site and start the project. From the onset, we are looking at six months to finish the project.”

Mr Asante says residents should not mistake the demolition for the end of the project.

“Normally, when we do the demolition, they think that we are doing the demolition and nothing else. But we are praying to them that they should exercise patience and make sure that the contractor will move to the site.”

Iddrisu Abass has also urged residents to allow the exercise to continue.

“When you see that they are grading your area, it is not about fighting you. You just have to relax because they are doing the road for you, and if you don't enjoy it, your children will benefit from it.”