The Greater Accra Regional Minister, Daniel Nii Kwartei Titus-Glover, has clarified that the 25,000 street lights slated for installation are intended for communities across the region, not for highways.
This clarification comes after Mr. Titus-Glover’s earlier remarks during a regional town hall meeting on August 6, where he suggested that the street lights were meant for poorly lit highways across the country.
“Because criminals don’t like visibility, the government has supported the region to make sure we light up the entire region with some street lights. In phase one, 10,000 streetlights were distributed in 2022.
“20,000 in 2023 and in phase three, we are going to do 25,000. There is a process in place where a company wants to partner with the regional coordinating council to do a solar one on the Tema Motorway. They will do a pilot from Shiashie through the Airport to 37 to Accra Central.
“Then we look at the N1 all the way to Weija Gbawe. Then we come to Achimota, the Overhead, through the Forestry Commission, the Achimota Police Station, GIMPA and then we make a turn towards Fiesta Royale.”
However, the Minister has now clarified that the current exercise will focus on installing street lights in local communities rather than on major roads or highways.
He, however, added that plans are underway to fix all streetlights on major highways across the country.
“These streetlights are not the normal highway lights, it is within the communities. They are different lights from what we have on highways. So that will take another level, to look at it holistically. But for now, what we have distributed is meant for the communities where there are no lights, and visibility is poor because of the absence of these lights, that has been the focus.
“When it comes to highway one, that’s a different thing we want to look at, through the traffic light matter.”
Residents and road users have expressed alarm about the dangers of travelling on unlit roads, citing numerous accidents on stretches like Baah Yard to Pokuase, George Walker Bush Highway, and the Accra-Tema Motorway.
While the government’s plan addresses community lighting, it leaves concerns about major roads unaddressed.
The Public Relations Officer for the Ministry of Roads and Highways, Nasir Ahmed Yartey, clarified that local authorities, not the Roads Ministry, are responsible for maintaining faulty street lights.
