Sunday, July 5, 2009

EX-PM CAUTIONS AGAINST USE OF FORCE IN DECONGESTION EXERCISE (PAGE 14)

A FORMER Presiding Member (PM) of the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA), Dr Edward Prempeh, has cautioned against the use of force in the planned decongestive exercise for Kumasi.
He said decongesting itself was not a bad exercise, looking at the current situation in the city but if the authorities used brute force on the people, the aim of the exercise would not be achieved.
In an interview with the Daily Graphic in Kumasi yesterday, Dr Prempeh suggested that if the exercise should be done, all the stakeholders should be involved to avoid past mistakes where similar exercises failed to achieve their intended purpose.
The KMA has already announced plans to decongest the city, especially the central business district.
Various traders, including “banku” sellers have taken over the pavements and even sections of the roads, making vehicular movement very difficult.
Dr Prempeh referred to the decongestive exercise undertaken during the administration of Ms Patricia Appiagyei, and said it failed because the KMA failed to involve the people.
“What we are seeing today in Kumasi is the direct result of poor planning, as was done during the last decongestion.
“If the authorities are able to sit the leadership of the traders down to appreciate the importance of the exercise, I believe it would be executed without any difficulty,” he stressed.
The former PM who is also a private medical practitioner said the KMA should also consider undertaking the exercise in phases.
He said decongesting the city was a massive exercise that could not be undertaken in few days as used to be done in the past. By undertaking it in phases, he said, the people would fully appreciate the benefits.
He also spoke against the use of some of the busy roads in the city as parking lots for the Metro Mass Buses since that worsened the already tense situation in the city centre.

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