Kumasi congested as commuters besiege CBD for Christmas shopping

The Kumasi Central Business District (CBD), one of West Africa’s busiest commercial areas, has seen huge traffic congestion as commuters besiege the area for Christmas shopping.

Vehicles plying Adum, Central Market and Kejetia are finding it difficult to move freely in the midst of the congestion as personnel of the Police Motor Traffic and Transport Department (MTTD) direct their movement.

The situation had compelled some drivers, especially those plying the Tech-Junction-Adum, Atonsu-Agogo-Roman-Hill, Bantama-Adum roads to drop off passengers at the Labour Roundabout Car Terminal. This is to ostensibly avoid being caught up in the traffic congestion.

Many passengers and traders, therefore, are left with no other choice than to trek on foot to their various destinations for shopping.

On the average, about 1.5 million people, including; traders from neighbouring countries, including; Togo, Burkina Faso, Cote d’Ivoire, Niger, Nigeria and Mali, throng the CBD for commercial purposes almost every week.

In an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA), Kumasi, some of the drivers counted the cost associated with the development, urging the city authorities to work assiduously to expand the road network.

“This year’s traffic congestion is worse as compared to previous years,” Mr Kofi Poku, a commercial driver plying the Tech-Junction-Adum road, lamented.

The situation, he noted, had the possibility of affecting their daily sales given the time they waste in the traffic.

Hajia Bintu Abubakar, a vegetable seller, also bemoaned the congestion at the CBD, saying she had to spend about three hours from Abuakwa to Kejetia, a destination which could have taken less than an hour.

Meanwhile, the National Road Safety Authority (NRSA) has advised road users to strive to conform to road traffic regulations in the course of the Yuletide.

According to the Authority, this was necessary to prevent road crashes and knock-downs with their attendant negative consequences.