Date published: February 17, 2014
From Richard Owusu-Akyaw, Kumasi
THE KUMASI street naming exercise, an offshoot of National Street naming and address program, which aims at providing modern addressing system, has had the backing of Manhyia Palace.
Ashanti File has gathered that the Kumasi Traditional Council per a committee has endorsed that all streets, avenues and walks in the Central Business District of Adum be named after the original 77
Townships that constitute Kumasi.
The Managing Director of ASI Zipcode Systems Limited, Mr. Kofi Owusu Bempah contractors of the project, said the Manhyia Committee headed by Nana Boakye Asah Debrah, chief of Asokore Mampong provided the names of the 77 Township of Kumasi to preserve the historical significance of the streets and that every chief in Kumasi had to provide 15 names of prominent chiefs and leaders who had helped with the development of the area, making a total of 2,000 names which were reviewed by the Manhyia Committee before their final adoption for use.
He said the motive by the traditional council was to preserve the names and the history behind the said 77 Townships Kumasi. The contractor said he envisaged a total of 3,000 major streets initially but the figure rose to 5,000 following the inclusion of walks, lanes and mini streets in the Metropolis.
Mr. Bempah Owusu noted that some of the towns were not named in Adum, but were named at the said towns, citing Bantama and Asem as a prime example, saying the majority of the 77 towns are at Greater Kumasi (Adum).
He said names like Dwabrem, meaning “traditional gathering place” which was given to the area around the Ministries had been changed to Maxwell road which leads to Prempeh Assembly Hall.
He disclosed that the Guggisberg road have been taken to the ministries and named after a road called ‘station’ road and the road which was initially named after Guggisberg is now called Osei Tutu I
Avenue.
Bantama road, which was named after the road from Komofo Anokye Teaching Hospital, has been changed into Komfo Anokye Road, and that Bantama road is now called Bantama Avenue. Names like Prempeh I and II have been maintained, Fuller Road have been moved to the Ministries while Fuller road has been named Afia Kobi Road.
Mr. Owusu Bempah appealed to the Ministry Chieftaincy and Culture to engage chiefs in a talk to compile the names of the towns with their historical background so that people can make reference to the traditional street naming.
The ASI Zipcode CEO said with the approval of GH¢1 million by the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA) in its Action Plan for 2014 to continue the contemporary street naming of the Garden City will give the project a major boost.
The President has tasked MMDCES to speed up work on the street naming and address system in their various MMDAs since that will be used to assess their performance as MMDCES in 18 months.
Meanwhile, the Adum street map had duly been compiled and would soon be launched to educate the public about the Greater Kumasi (Adum) map as well as help drivers particularly taxi cabbies to know their movement in town, Mr. Owusu Bempah has disclosed.
Pix: Mr. Kofi Owusu Bempah, MD of ASI Zipcode Systems Limited
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