“Nana Akufo Addo says I should tell you that the services we give to the people of East Legon, we should give the same services to the people of Agbog
“Nana Akufo Addo says I should tell you that the services we give to the people of East Legon, we should give the same services to the people of Agbogbloshie”.
The statement sent a rapturous cheer through the crowd gathered in Ghana’s biggest slum. The – crowd hyped on adrenalin and fighting for space just to catch a glimpse of the Vice President – sang and screamed their lungs out.
When Dr Mahamudu Bawumia arrived in Agbogbloshie in September 2019, he told the milling crowd he was the first sitting Vice President to have visited the slum.
“The lives of the people of Agbogbloshie matter as much as the lives of the people of East Legon or Cantonments”, he added.
With him on that trip were many government top shots. The Interior Minister, the Defence Minister and Works and Housing Minister, the Minister for Sanitation were among many who turned up for that visit
“This community centre is very important for this area. It got burnt. President Akufo Addo says we should build a new one for you. It would be a storey building structure so that you can use it for your community activities,” he said.
Dr Bawumia was the first to have gone there but the promises he made weren’t the first to have been made there. The slum is Ghana’s largest. Old Fadama is expanding rapidly, almost bursting at its seams and a major threat to the existence of the Korle lagoon.
The community used to be a yam market and also host to a small population of Ghanaian fleeing ethnic conflict. Now, the community is a representation of nearly every ethnic group in Ghana and of course a big base for politicians looking for votes.
Yet, the urban slum is hungry for basic infrastructure. Several other promises had been made to the people of Agbogbloshie in the past. Many have remained just that- promises- years after they were made.
Daniel Attah
Daniel Attah was one of the many people who listened to the Vice President when he visited the community. But 22 months down the line, he wonders what happened to the promises as his mind flashes back to the momentous day.
He came from a village in the Upper West region, brimming with hope to make a living and lift himself and his family out of poverty.
He had hopes of becoming a police officer. But that dream could not materialise so he had to adjust. Going back to Wa was not part of his plans. He slept in the open for 1-year, selling yam in traffic until he finally saved enough money to get accommodation.
For now, life is better, he can afford 50 cedis weekly rent for a small area in a wooden storey building that has no bathroom and toilet. So, he has to pay to use public bathrooms.
Daniel recollects that the Vice President made a promise to build toilets for the community. Dr Bawumia stated, “In all, we are going to build 4 different 8- unit toilets for this community”.
The statement remains a promise yet to be fulfilled.
Daniel wants political leaders to be sensitive to their needs. “There is no school here, there is no hospital here, the government must give us basic needs. In the last 4 years, they only tarred the road in front of the community,” he added.
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