Pockets Of Indiscipline

As a people we appear uninterested in the beauty of our environment; ornamental plants and flowers meaning nothing to many of us.

That could be reason many of our roundabouts originally beautified with such plants are now bereft of them regrettably.

While desert cities in the Middle East spend so much money to water ornamental plants lining their ceremonial streets, we have largely turned ours into mini-markets for the hawking of mobile phone cards, fruits and an assortment of other stuff.

That is why most of the medians along our ceremonial roads are bereft of the green grass which the state spent so much money growing during the construction of these places. Today these are no longer green but brown, suggesting the stress suffered by the plants.

Without water for their survival, they also suffer the constant pressure of pedestrians walking on them.

The , an important point in Accra, has lost the beauty offered by the plants planted there at a cost of course, because fruit sellers have taken over the place.

As for the plants in the surrounding areas, they could be waiting for the rainy season to commence as they do every year so they would regain their natural colours.

We wonder whether the Department of Parks And Gardens still exists, and if it does what is it doing about the lush green offered by the green grass on our medians in the city?  Maybe the department too is suffering its share of the neglect.

There is the need for us to consider making our cities, especially the nation's capital beautiful.

Even as we continue to litter the city the way we are used to, let us support whatever effort is eventually made to restore the greenness of Accra.

When important state functions are around the corner, we spend so much money painting the ornamental streets, but do nothing subsequently to maintain the temporary beautification exercise. What a shame!

It is our hope that this commentary would offer the necessary push to the authorities to do something about the state of our horticulture.

As the heading, 'Pockets of Indiscipline' suggests, our commentary is about those little things we do or not but whose impact on our lives is telling.

A few days ago, there was a suggestion about the need to enact bylaws to sanction pedestrians who endanger their lives, by for instance, not using earmarked pavements for their use. We could not agree more with this suggestion.

It is common for pedestrians to ignore such demarcated segments of streets and endanger their lives by rather competing with motorists in the middle of the roads.

Since people would not appreciate the importance of laws and regulations for that matter and would choose to endanger their lives and those of others, they should be sanctioned appropriately, if found culpable.

There are others who use earphones as they cross even dangerous roads in the cities as though walking in their bedrooms. It makes us wonder whether such persons love their lives.

Zebra crossings are meant for pedestrians but while most road users do not understand these markings motorists themselves hardly show propensity to stopping for walking road users to cross at these points.

Discipline and education are the watchwords.