“The Dark Municipality”

“We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of light” says Plato the Athenian Philosopher. Could this be the situation found in the Jirapa Municipality? Is it that the people of Jirapa fear light at night? The municipality looks lit during the day and as dark as the tunnel at night.

A Municipality without functioning streetlights is ironical. Take a stroll through the major streets of Jirapa at night and you will wonder whether the people are allergic to light. It is not surprising criminal activities have surged in the municipality especially in the night. A dark street is a playing ground for criminals. Many of these criminals would be cautious of what they do if the municipality had functioning streetlights.

But whose responsibility is it to ensure the streetlights are functioning? I am told it is the Municipal Assembly. But is the Municipal Assembly sleeping on one of its cardinal responsibilities? Is there a Municipal Chief Executive in Jirapa? Have the MCE ever gone through the streets of Jirapa town at night? If the answer is yes, what is the Municipal Chief Executive together with her officers doing about the darkness that engulfs the town at night? Or we are waiting for December to do the usual politics?

It is baffling to note that residents of Jirapa just like other Ghanaians have 3.0% deducted on any amount of prepaid they buy purposely for streetlights yet they never get to enjoy these streetlights. So one may ask where the monies deducted goes to and what they are used for if the streetlights in Jirapa cannot work continuously for two weeks. Someone might be sleeping on his/her job.

Whoever duty it is to ensure the streetlights work should wake up from the slumber and ensure that the right thing is done. The people of Jirapa deserve better.

I am a citizen not a spectator.

Pius Doozie

@Emerging Hope group.