Stakeout!...in East Legon

So there I was working some fifty minutes ago when I hear a sound in the distance. Minutes later, and the sound comes closer--it's of a man speaking through a megaphone "SHARP YOUR KNIFE!...SHARP YOUR KNIFE!". He's a picture of the average "working class" Ghanaian who is doing his utmost to do something for himself. (Far better tha resorting to armed robbery, if you ask me!)

He was walking with his sidekick--megaphone slung over his shoulder, and clad in a sun and dust-beaten t-shirt and trousers in an ironically determined manner.

I could have sworn I heard him earlier--just as I was about to leave the house, which is some twenty minutes drive, with little traffic, from the office. That was around 8.15am.

To think that around 11.05am, he had walked the equivalent of twenty minutes drive by car, some 8 km from the Estates to the busy Spintex Road through the East Legon tunnel to my workplace was not just amazing, but a feat of epic proportions, given the weather. And he must have had some customers along the way, too.

Regrettably, I took this picture to capture the "before he arrived" and "this is him" from the office--but no go!

Maybe next time!

tags
accra;accra tales;accra by day;ghana;east legon;middle class ghana;working class ghana;

Of Voice of America Billboards, and Tetteh-Quarshie Interchange Snaps

I was at Hotel Angelica, near the famed Tetteh-Quarshie Interchange for a Public Forum today on a work-related assignment, and decided to take a few snaps. (Can you see the traffic lights and the streetlights in the distance?) This is the front of the hotel, and the one below...

...is a billboard of Voice of America, which has been broadcasting in Accra since 2005. It is sitting right against the backdrop of some of the greenery in the capital I like to refer to, especially that of the Tetteh-Quarshie interchange.

tags
accra;ghana
greenery
tetteh quarshie interchange;voa

So Accra, So Platitudinously African!

When I run out of picture ideas, I refer to the platitudes that most cultures are used to of Africa;-) Except to say that this one is not as cliched...in the sense that I unwittingly captured three levels of activity:

1.the car going off to the extreme left of the picture is going somewhere

2. the "hawkers", ie the girls are selling "pure water", which in Accra--and much of the West African sub-region--is simply filtered (processed) water in sachet bags of 500ml, costing 300 cedis, or 300/9000 or $0.03! Yes, that cheap!! The girl with the blue top looks like she's putitng coins away...

3. the men walking on the pavement, most likely hawkers, are looking for prospective customers

...all against the backdrop of CEDI House,which houses the country's premier state-owned Agricultural Development Bank, and more importantly, the Bank of Ghana, as well as Ghana's Stock Exchange...

"The Cedi House, one of a handful of "story buildings," as high-rises are called here, in downtown Accra. The Stock Exchange is on the fifth floor, and trading happens three times per week, from around 9 a.m. to around noon, if there is enough activity to keep it running that long."...The Ghana Stock Exchange is reputed to be one of the best in Africa...

from: http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/photo.day.php?ID=80984

This picture was taken in the periphery of Ghana's inimitably-designed National Theatre; and the British Council which is to the left of the direction the young men are walking in. All located on one "Liberia Road".

tags:
accra;ghana;ghana stock exchange ;ghana cedi house;pure water;

Accra Morning Traffic...

...but do please check the pollution coming from that monstrous truck upfront!!;-)
This picture was taken near East Legon, some ten minutes drive from the University of Ghana, Legon.

Have a good weekend!

tags:
accra;ghana;accra traffic;accra pollution;

Welcome to Ghana's Ministry of Interior

I was in the Ministries area yesterday on a work-related assignment, and took the opportunity to capture the front of the Ministry, which startled me a bit in the sense that the architecture is SO very different from the other Ministry buildings around. A colleague suggested that it probably has resonance from our colonial masters, the British.


For some strange reason, it reminds me of aspects of Western European architecture, possibly Germany, which has played its role in Ghana's history in unique ways as the British have done.

A view from some 10 feet.I couldn't help--bar the small distraction of the man crossing the view--but have my breath taken away that small bit, with the contrast of the tree, the leaves against the building.

let's face it: this is the picture that I LOVE best.

tags:
accra; ghana ministries; ghana interior; ghana;

The Substitute Becomes only a Complement, or I Love Gardening!

Remember The Substitute back in July, when the mower broke down? Well, the mower has been functioning for a month now, and transforming yours truly's face into a happy one--like this one here!:-))

Suffice-to-say I have a well-manicured lawn, thanks to the mower! This post also touches tangentially on the greenery in the capital.



How I dislike having to cut the greenery, but it doesn't help get rid of insects, which use it as their fief.

tags:
accra;ghana mowing;mowing the lawn;green accra;

Let there Be Light!

Streelamp in East Legon, taken in the evening, around 6.15pm GMT

Have a good weekend!

tags
accra

A Different Aerial View of East Legon, At A&C Shopping Mall

Can you see that taxi at the petrol station? This picture is less about that car, and more about the almost-picturesque view of East Legon, precisely where the A&C Shopping Mall is located. Isn't that sky beautiful?
To the left of this picture is the second building being erected for the A&C Mall.

tags
accra;
ghana shopping mall;
east legon;
accra sky;

So Accra, So Green

I truly do believe that greenery in the capital is something to be cherished, and something that many city-dwellers, and commuters might take for granted--irrespective of the culture you're coming from. I've been blessed and priviledged to be surrounded by greenery almost my whole life, and I often do forget how beneficial it can be to the soul, if yo're into all that esoteric stuff.

But back to Accra.

The picture above is a scene that is almost a constant on the Spintex Road, and throughout the capital: plants being sold left, right, centre and almost everywhere. They are literally littered on that road, and especially popular on roads leading outside the capital to the nine different regions of the country.


A man walks on a dirt road leading to a tarred road...in East Legon, where my office is, and where it's very very verdant...

...whilst here, also in East Legon, this greenery -- as exemplified by the tree -- is in front of someone's house.


Most amusing are the billy goats that feed on this greenery in the capital...for good measure! You can continue to fret or accept scenes like these...till tourists start pouring into the capital from February 2007 onwards for the celebration of 50 years of Ghana's independence:-))

tags:
accra;ghana greenery;accra greenery;spintex road;

Sitting and Waiting in Downtown Accra Last Friday...

...for a meeting that ended up being an abortive one. The place was one a fast-food place owned by Nigerians and established since 1973, and which serves burgers comparable to MacDonalds and Burger King!



I was not amused...with a face looking like that, wouldn't I be advised to go visit the doctor?

tags:
accra;downtown accra;mr.biggs;