With the colours and picture of elephants (NPP), eagles and umbrellas (NDC), doves (NDP), chickens (CPP) and an explosion (PPP) on the streets of Accra, you can’t blame me for viewing this year’s election as a circus. I just can’t seem to find the clowns though.
(I don’t know why but I first thought PPP stood for “Pow Pow Pow” because of explosion in their logo)
It is very obvious that Accra is getting ready for something big come December. If you are not Ghanaian and arrived in Ghana last week, you would definitely ask why colours of black, green, white, red and blue are all over the place.
It’s an election year and as Ghana draws towards its voting day the streets of its capital has been over decorated in party colours of the various political parties.
I have always wondered why majority of political party colours in Ghana stick to the colours red, green and white. With the exception of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) which has black in its colours and New Patrotic Party (NPP) with blue, all other political parties running for the presidency are stuck within the red, green and white colour prison.
(Maybe that’s why the main competition is between NDC and NPP. The rest all just look alike)
This causes some confusion when it’s just the colours campaigning. The branding of some of these parties are very poor and could be improved to make them stand out more.
My issue with all this hullaballo of colours on our streets is that it’s over done and seems to be done without any regulation. Lamp posts, electricity poles, sign boards, trees, walls, you name it. No object is spared in this decorating frenzy. In my opinion the trees have it better though it leaves me wondering about the tree stump in the image below.
(I apologize for the LEAVES me wondering pun)
The above image however is a better looking picture of the problem. (Though the decoration could be improved)
The main picture for this post highlights the problem better. We often see it on our streets. The Olusegun Obasanjo Highway is a good example. It leaves one to wonder how the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) tolerates this mess all in the name of elections.
I blame all the parties and the AMA for this misconduct. Some of the branding done on the streets are beautiful but the flags and other things need regulation. Our streets look like a circus is coming to town. What bothers me is what happens to all the cloth and stuff hanging around after the elections.
Who picks up after?
Again in this scene I blame the churches, political parties and the AMA. The churches and political parties should do better in setting an example for the country to follow.
These things are difficult to control but it is clear that when it comes to certain institutions a blind eye is turned. Regulation must however be enforced, to ensure that the streets of Ghana look beautiful.
If our leaders do this, what do we expect the people who follow them to also do?
Keep winning and always remember to keep it One HONDRED!
Official site for Poet Rapper Hondred Percent
