The scandalous street naming exercise with meaningless names in the ongoing national drive has reached Kpando in the Oti Region, which is now besmirched with strange street names that have incurred the angst of residents.
Some of the names ring foreign to residents of Kpando. For instance, residents question the sanity of such names as ‘‘Parsnip,’’ “Ricebean” and “Pigeon Pea” streets.
The brewing scandal is said to be connected to Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia, who has reportedly messed up the project which was the brainchild of former Minister for Local Government and Rural Development, Mr. Julius Debrah.
Julius Debrah had come up with the idea to name all the streets in Ghana and had had the intention for the street names to reflect the culture, lore and folk heroes of the various locale.
However, Dr. Bawumia is said to have given the contract to a Chinese company that is now conjuring strange names.
An indigene of the area, Tachie Fortune Isaac, has said he is indignant about the whole affair. “It is with much indignation that I write on behalf of the good people of Kpando and every other well-meaning Ghanaian whose communities and streets have been denigrated with scores of non-meaningful, if not meaningless street names,” he writes.
He points out that, “Our streets seem to be celebrating different heroes. “Parsnip Street” is celebrating only God knows who or what! What is even a parsnip at all? Another one here in Kpando is “Peanut Street. We also have Pigeon Pea Street, “Ricebean Street.” I know you can’t believe your eyes, but it’s true…I can show you. [“Mango Street seems” to make a little sensible…I love mangoes.”
Others like Mr. Tachie wonder if those naming the streets are not aware that Kpando too, like any other town, has its folk heroes and existing names for streets that could have been named as such with the modern street signs.
Mr. Tachie’s difficulty is not peculiar as a similar incident was reported recently from In Navrongo in the northern part of the country, where locals had to contend with extremely foreign street names like “Broccolini” given to the street leading to the palace of the Navrongo Chief.