Ghana's "Gold Cab" Service Gets a Face-Lift, UK-Style!

On February 26, I wrote on my ghana blog "Trials & Tribulations of a Freshly-Arrived Denizen" of the entrance of British Black Cabs landing on the shores of Ghana to be used by the "Gold Cab" taxi service I have been patronising for 4 years now. You can see how it first started--as a white car in 2006. In any event, this is what I wrote in February:

For the past almost-four years, I have been patronising the services of "Gold Cab", located in the centre of town (Kokomlemle). Though I have never been to their head offices, they have always been a phone call away. They are useful because they can go where commercial vehicles are unable to go, because they have WHITE number plates, which are the preserve of private cars (unlike yellow ones that dominate the taxi landscape).

Only this week, their fares per hour went up from GHC10.00 to GHC12.00, which is, respectively, US$6.66 to US$8.00. Not bad per hour, considering normal taxis have now gravitated towards that amount.

What makes them even more special is the fact that the cars are all new, or fairly new (roughly 1-2 years old) and are all air-conditioned. They first started with this fiat in the captured picture in this post, went to TOYOTA YARIS (no funny thoughts, pls!!) some 12 months ago...and will now go to...the Black Cabs of the UK.

Two GOLD CAB drivers have confirmed independently that the British Black Cabs will not be as big as in the UK, and will be converted from right hand- to left-hand drive. Another driver told me yesterday that they are currently at the ports.

I seriously look forward to seeing a slice of British cabbies here in Ghana very soon! If you're ever tempted to patronise Gold Cab's services, let me know and I'll pass you the info. Frankly, their communication strategies are poor. Despite the fact that they have a fleet of some 25 cars (painted in inimitable GOLD), they do NOT have a website!

I am pleased to say that on Tuesday, I was able to finally get to use the British Black Cab-Turned-Gold Cab Ghana! Here are two shots of it. The first picture shows the front, and the second the side.


I found out today that Gold Cab does have a website; I look forward to knowing what it is!

If you're driving this weekend, keep safe--wherever you are!

Busy Baatsona Market!

Baatsona follows after the famed Spintex Road, and also has a reputable market (pictured), where you're likely to see--every weekend--much of Ghana's (upper) middle class that lives on the Spintex flock to for relatively-bargain prices of quintessentially-Ghanaian foods!

When Ghana Walks for the Gambia on its "Freedom Day"

In a nod and a wink to the story of Ghana's "Media Foundation for West Africa", I am posting some pictures of the demonstration that took place.

I was representing my organisation at the press conference organised by Media Foundation for West Africa yesterday. The objective was primarily to draw attention to the fact that the celebration of "Freedom Day" in fellow West African country of The Gambia was not just ironic, but a misnomer. Not forgetting the fact that 44 Ghanaians had been killed in that country in 2005 (sadly, the Government of Ghana accepted only 6! a few weeks ago), The Gambia has been ruled by a dictator since 1994. The executive and judiciary is in chaos and freedom is under threat. Ghana is priviledged, frankly, to still be considered an "island of peace", developmental challenges notwithstanding...Please find below some pictures I took yesterday that offer a snapshot of the demo.


Demonstrators who sat in at a press conference to mark Gambia's "Freedom Day" get ready to march to Ghana's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration to dispatch a petition to the Ministry for them to do more about The Gambia's abuse of human rights.









Demonstrators from the press conference walk with the Ghana Police who have to walk behind to ensure all goes smoothly!;-)










Demonstrators march towards the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration...












At the Ministry of Foreign Affairs & Regional Integration, demonstrators listen to what a Deputy Minister has to say about The Gambia.

Ghana's Police--Serving and Protecting?

Ghana's police cars are blessed--their license plates are all preceded by "GP";-)

They're also sometimes blue vehicles. Other times, they're pick-ups--like this one.

As to whether they're serving and protecting, one likes to think they're doing great, thankyou!

That they have a website, which can be reached at http://www.ghanapolice.info/main.htm can only go to confirm that they're well-ensconced in the 21st century.

They're not yet on Facebook neither are they on twitter.

How about it, Ghana Police??