You are not likely to travel on any road in Ghana, especially Accra, which is the capital city without encountering a pothole. The worst of it all are the potholes on the Tema Motorway.
Our founder and first President, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, bequeathed to this country so many things; one of such monuments is the Tema Motorway, which was built with the future in mind.
Unfortunately, as it is with everything on earth, the motorway is deteriorating at a fast rate with the passage of time and nobody seems to care, at least those whose duty it is to ensure that the road is maintained have gone to sleep.
The Motorway, over the years has served its purpose and continues to do so, by not only being the most durable, safe and flagship road we have in this country, but it has also been a source of revenue for the State, through the tolls collected every day.
The focus of this editorial is not on the Tema Motorway, but the general sight of pot holes on our roads. The mention of the Tema Motorway is just to emphasize the point we are trying to make and that is we are gradually heading towards a failed state, which has nothing good to bequeath to the future and unborn generation.
It is said that to whom much is given, much is expected. The Motorway if well managed and maintained, could give us more revenue than it presently does.
It is disheartening driving or travelling on our deplorable roads, which are replete with this menace, caled pot holes, which is responsible not only for accidents, but cause of damage to the vehicles, thereby, increasing cost of maintenance.
The cost is thus passed onto the ordinary citizen, who patronizes public transport.
What surprises us here at The Herald is that roads which are supposed to be under construction, with portions completed, surprisingly potholes can be spotted on them. Whose duty is it to inspect and approve roads, before payments are done?
The roads that are built these days cannot stand the test of time, as they start deteriorating soon after they are handed over to the Government. It baffles many as to which criteria or consideration that goes into the inspection process to ensure that the terms are met,
regarding quality and durability, before the roads are finally handed over to the Government.
A rumour which still remains a rumour among the general populace is that authorities demand five per cent payment, before awarding any contract, so it stands to reason that the roads would not be built well.
We need to, as a country, start thinking about the future in whatever we do. As with everything that we buy comes with a warranty, the contractors must also give us warranty such that if the road goes bad or develop potholes they could come and repair it, before they turn into manholes endangering the lives of innocent citizens.
We would like to further suggest that the Ministry of Roads and Highways, as well as the Ghana Highway Authourity, set up a task force, to go round the capital city periodically to inspect roads, so that instead of constructing new roads, that will become pothole- prone, we could use the money to maintained existing ones.