The Ghana Highway Authority (GHA) has pointed to vandalism and theft by unpatriotic citizens as the main reasons behind the malfunctioning and absence of street lights on the Accra-Tema Motorway.
Motorists have increasingly voiced concerns over the lack of street lights, which has led to frequent accidents and heightened the risk of theft of pedestrians using the motorway at night.
Speaking on the Citi News, Cecil Nii Obodai Wentum, the Public Relations Officer of the Ghana Highway Authority said some Ghanaians have been stealing street lights, plunging the motorway into darkness during the night.
Mr. Wentum further explained that, these individuals have also been removing metal covers and underground cables that connect the street lights, worsening the situation.
“Look, a number of people who I put in quote unpatriotic are destroying some of our infrastructural facilities. People deliberately go, take out these things, and destroy them, either they are stealing or taking parts. So it’s not that the street lights are going off because they have expired and have to go off.
“I had the opportunity to speak to the media on this issue before, especially on the motorway, you wake up one day and all of a sudden, you have more than 10 or 20 street lights on a line all gone off.
“You ask yourself how is that possible? In all these facilities they communicate amongst themselves, and there are connections. So if you plug out and cut one out, they speak, people are stealing. Not too long ago, I was on the Motorway way and was so saddened.
“Phase two of the motorway, the metal covers and the underground cable have all been cut by who? Ghanaians. These things happen deliberately, we have some unscrupulous persons in our communities,” Mr Wentum lamented.
He advocated for stringent penalties for individuals who steal street lights and underground cables.
“Enforcement must work, we must work hand in hand and see how we can get people arrested and punished so that it will serve as a deterrent,” he opined.
Mr Wentum assured that approval has been granted for the procurement of new street lights and revealed that the contractor is working diligently to make the stretch motorable and reduce traffic congestion significantly.
He cautioned that the structural integrity of the road is compromised and urged motorists to exercise caution and adhere to speed limits.
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