Spintex Road Diaries:Inexplicable Bottleneck

A couple of minutes ago, I had the priviledge of boarding a SAKUMONO-bound MASS METRO BUS. Although we have only as much as crawled a few metres through the snaking traffic, you might want to forgive me for considering it a priviledge.

You see, I arrived here some 20 minutes ago to the sight of darkness falling this side of Accra, in what would be a melee of colours and smells that contrasted wildly with the serene air-conditioning of the mall. Both cars and tro-tros would be bumper-to-bumper in a scene reminiscent of the legendary Christmas traffic that befalls the capital in December with a disturbing regularity it is not funny.

Truth be told, I did not really mind till the darkness started enveloping the capital, because I knew it was not going to bode well for the bottleneck.

And it has not.

Although the crawling of a few metres has made way for significant movement that lets us know we are going forward in a positive direction, you cannot escape the sounds of tooting horns filling the air around us. Everyone seems to want to get to their destination first, forgetting that we are all destined to undergo a degree of frustration till we get to our destination.

I am not trying to be funny here, but I cannot shake off the desire to KNOW what is causing this inexplicable bottleneck.

The historians of this country must have their work cut out, for the mysteries of the strange-yet-unresolved bottlenecks on this darned road must be sufficient to fill tomes!

Any takers?

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Enter Left for Ghana in ECOWAS, as Ghana Plays Host to a Regional Electricity Agency

Two important developments within the past two days have reminded me that Ghana might not be playing a low-key role in international diplomacy, albeit African geo-politics.

Now that one of my long-time blogger-followers since 2005--Daniel Hoffman-Gill--has migrated from my other blog to this one, I think it behooves me to be as clear as possible about where I am going with this post, as even in Ghana, few care about what ECOWAS means.

The Economic Community Of West African States is a regional organisation--just as the EU is of 27 countries--that has been in existence since 1975. It successfully, albeit controversially, resolved the crisis in Liberia, primarily by expanding its mandate from an economic imperative to a peace and security one as well.

In 2007, it changed its structure to an EU one, whereby there are now ECOWAS Commissioners for trade, human security, etc. The Secretariat in that year also became a Commission, rather than a Secretariat, with greater powers to facilitate a more people-centred organisation that would be meaningful for West Africans.

Now the boss, since 2001, has been a Ghanaian by the name of Dr.Ibn Chambas. Yesterday, I learnt from reports online that he has just landed a top-job in the Brussels-based African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States (ACP Group).

In the same vein, I found out today that the promise that Ghana would play host to one of the ECOWAS agencies--in this case the ECOWAS Regional Electricity Regulatory Authority (ERERA) has been honoured, and it is in a very visible place on the famed-Spintex Road!

This evidently means nothing about Ghana in ECOWAS foreign policy, but the developments within the past two days is certainly nothing to be sneezed at.

For the record, I do hope that as the EU meet today to decide who becomes the President of the newly-empowered EU Council(thanks to the Lisbon Treaty) Tony Blair will miss it by inches--not because he is not competent, but because I don't think someone who never accepted that he botched the justification for the invasion of Iraq will be accountable to EU citizens!

Spintex Road Diaries: The Bigger Scheme...

Another manic monday that has flown faster than a purpose-driven mosquitoe on a lights-off night.

It,s 18h39 and the tro-tro engine has burst to life, taking the order-of-four-seated commuters to "bush road! nungua side" destination. Ofcourse some of us will stop closer.

Have to say that it seems rather incongruous listening to Natasha Bedingfield's "These Words are My Own";, and have a few commuters whistling to the lively tune behind me.

Go on, call me a snob.

While ur doing that, spare a thought for those languishing in hospitals out of family negligence, or those who have broken up on Valentine's day.

Those seem to be the small things, but they really are not...in the bigger scheme of things.

Good health is a virtue, and having someone to call your partner or lover are two of the age-old and time-tested formulations that remind us of our humanity. and make it simultaneously meaningful.

Can't wait for CSI tomorrow morning--even if it might make me soporific the subsequent couple of hours!!

It sure is great to be alive, and have and make choices.

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Spintex Road Diaries: Heading for an early night?

It is a cool evening, with adom fm just announcing in the taxi i am in that egypt has scored two, ghana also has two. I guess this is a friendly.

CSI (Las Vegas) rocks on viasat 1, but staying to midnight almost daily is making me seriously soporific. Must opt for the DVD in its stead.

So bloody tired it is not funny! Traffic meanwhile is surprisingly smooth.

wow...

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Spintex Road Diaries: Smooth Traffic Confuses Me

Children are back to school, and it rained yesterday, so how come the traffic is so deliciously smooth? Not that I am complaining or anything, but I am profoundly quized by the absence of a bottleneck this side of 6.45pm...

We can only hope both shared taxis and cars are able to ply this smoothly from hereonin!

Looks like a minute later, I might have spoken too soon, There is a tipper truck in front of us that was speeding, which is now virtually crawling.

This is what I am used to. Don't spoil my fun!

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Spintex Road Diaries: Rain Becomes Us

It is times like these when you realise there truly is a Higher power. If not, how do you explain people running helter-skelter just to avoid the rain?

It surprised us this afternoon, though it duly gave us a warning, what with the dark clouds and all. Still, colleagues and neighbours alike could not quite believe their eyes when the downpour veritably came, and put paid to any attempts to go into town, and wherever necessary, home.

It's 18h18, and the rain has subsided considerably. Looks like the raincoats stay close to the chest tomorrow!

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Spintex Road Diaries: Still as Unpredictable

This evening's journey home was a lot smoother than usual in the sense that the traffic was largely-absent. Went to GOIL filling station to buy something, get out and meet who but my work colleague.

I am in her car en route to the estate home.

I swear there's a Higher Power regulating not just the collapsed financial markets...

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Spintex Road Diaries: Always-Inexplicable Traffic

Currently in a shared taxi en route home. There is traffic here that is as inexplicable as it is a regular diet of the average commuter heading home.

The passing of the late Finance minister Baah-Wiredu has dominated news. May his soul rest in peace...

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