From Richard Kofi Attenkah.
The Member of Parliament (MP) for the Tema East Constituency, Daniel Nii Kwartei Titus Glover, has called on the Ministry of Works and Water Resources, as well as the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA), to, with immediate effect, repair the only footbridge which links the township to the Tema Fishing Harbour.
According to him, the footbridge, which was constructed over 50 years ago, had now become a death trap for residents and non-residents who cross it on a daily basis to transact business at the harbour and return to their homes, as it has not received any renovation since it was constructed.
“The poor state of the bridge is affecting the fishing activity of the people in the area,” he bemoaned. The Tema East MP revealed that another challenge facing people in the area, especially those at the Canoe basin, including the fishermen and fishmongers, was the rate at which the tidal waves were destroying activities of the fisher-folk. “When I was a child, all the channels were well done, but because of the pressure of the tidal waves, they have eventually destroyed everything in the area,” he hinted.
He explained that “The waves are fast eating into where the fisher-folks carry out their activities, so with time, if we are not careful, the people will be washed away. Therefore, we need a proper sea defense wall to really stop the waves advancing any further.” Titus Glover made the statement when he conducted a section of the Tema press around parts of his constituency to show them the extent of damage caused to the Canoe Fishing beach by the tidal waves, and the state of the dilapidated footbridge among other problems.
He warned: “If we do not put urgency in this matter people will die, which I do not wish it happen.” He stated that the main bridge linking the Tema Manhean Township to the rest of Tema was weak, and if it breaks down, the people would have no other option than to use canoes as their means of transport, or go through Kpone to Tema, which will be a difficult task.
Touching on the kind of pressure on that road, he noted: “When you look at the pressure that the articulated trucks that ply the weak stretch conveying goods to warehouses around the area, if care it not taken, it will be disastrous. “We are sitting on a time bomb; I am not trying to predict any disaster, but should anything happen today, nobody can enter Tema Manhean, or come out from the area.
“It needs urgent attention, and every part of the bridge is weak. If you take a look at the vehicular traffic on the road, which is gradually eating into the base of the bridge, then there is a problem ahead,” he lamented. He continued that during the raining season, the water overflows the bridge, saying, “We are not safe; should we sit down for something bad to happen before we take action?”
Titus Glover revealed that he has been negotiating with the authorities of Volta Aluminium Company (VALCO) to construct a road from their bush canteen to link Tema Manhean to Tema, but VALCO has been so difficult and adamant. The Awudum Chief Fishermen, Nii Odametey, said they urgently needed a sea defense wall to stop the tidal waves from destroying the place where they sit to mend their nets.