Someone who read my previous post about roads in Ghana asked me whether I was visiting Ghana for the first time. No sir! I think he meant that I should know by now that this is "the way it works here" and that I should be "reasonable" and stop complaining about it or fighting the situation. With due respect, I think this gentleman was as wrong as one can be. Yielding to warped reasoning or practices is the worst thing one can do. In my opinion, a concerned citizen's duty is to denounce what doesn't work and expose the harm corrupt persons, at all levels, are doing to this country.
So, at the risk of being considered naive, I will keep commenting when I come across bent practices.
Yesterday I took the small section of Spintex Road I described in a previous post and saw people and machines hard at work. I didn't have my camera with me and had to take pictures with my mobile phone, hence the lesser quality of today's pictures, for which I apologise.
Grey gravel was being spread out and packed down. My laywoman question is whether one shouldn't be more consistent about it, especially at both ends of the section being reworked. Won't this part be weaker if not strictly delimited, the depth of gravel the same as on other sections of the road and the packing as strong as elsewhere? I'm just thinking alout here. As I said, I don't know a thing about road surfacing.
In several places, the laterite soil could be seen through the gravel. Won't this lead to foreseeable structural weaknesses later on?
Finally, and sometimes I feel like laughing it off, storm drains were put in place several months ago and when the soil was spread out, both laterite and grey gravel were pushed in the drains, filling them in parts, and several labourers were busy shoveling them out. Doing and undoing is still working and I understand they are paid by the day. As far as they are concerned, whatever the job is, it's still paid work.
Last night we had a very big rain again. I wonder how far the labourers had gone into freeing the drains from soil and gravel and what this section of the road looks like now. I'll try and make time to go and have a look today, if my (untarred) street is passable.
More comments and pictures soon!
So, at the risk of being considered naive, I will keep commenting when I come across bent practices.
Yesterday I took the small section of Spintex Road I described in a previous post and saw people and machines hard at work. I didn't have my camera with me and had to take pictures with my mobile phone, hence the lesser quality of today's pictures, for which I apologise.
Grey gravel was being spread out and packed down. My laywoman question is whether one shouldn't be more consistent about it, especially at both ends of the section being reworked. Won't this part be weaker if not strictly delimited, the depth of gravel the same as on other sections of the road and the packing as strong as elsewhere? I'm just thinking alout here. As I said, I don't know a thing about road surfacing.
In several places, the laterite soil could be seen through the gravel. Won't this lead to foreseeable structural weaknesses later on?
Finally, and sometimes I feel like laughing it off, storm drains were put in place several months ago and when the soil was spread out, both laterite and grey gravel were pushed in the drains, filling them in parts, and several labourers were busy shoveling them out. Doing and undoing is still working and I understand they are paid by the day. As far as they are concerned, whatever the job is, it's still paid work.
Last night we had a very big rain again. I wonder how far the labourers had gone into freeing the drains from soil and gravel and what this section of the road looks like now. I'll try and make time to go and have a look today, if my (untarred) street is passable.
More comments and pictures soon!
2 comments:
you're so right about Ghanaian's attitude about accepting mediocrity. DO continue to complain; for if you do it enough, people will sit up! Someone, somewhere will hear it for sure!
As for the roads, supervision is sorely lacking. Paid work should be supervised, so it makes sense that the supervisors should also accept the blame--not just the workers.
Hi Emmanuel,
Thank you for your support. I'm not complaining, though. I'm trying to remind people that they shouldn't settle for the situation as it is now; to prod a few into action. It's a small blog but kakrabia nsua: others may add their small contribution until the voices of those who want to be righfully proud of Ghana are heard above the snoring of the rest.
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