Anyone for "Pure" Water? Maybe some "Standard Water"?

"Pure Water" is a typical name given to water that is not bottled in Ghana. They usually come in sachets, and are patronised by people from all walks of life.

"Standard Water" is but one of many of the Food and Drugs Board-approved producers of sachet water.

Happy Africa Liberation Day to all AU Citizens...on 25 May!

Every 25 May, Ghana, along with many African Union(AU) member states, celebrates what has now come to be known as Africa Liberation Day(ALD). It is erroneously celebrated as African Union day, which is actually celebrated on 9 September, when the Sirte Declaration was conceived to transform the-then Organisation of African Unity into the African Union.

In Ghana, Chelsea's Michael Essien (a Ghanaian) in his capacity as AU Peace Ambassador will lead a team of other international Chelsea superstars to play in a "Peace for Africa" match. This poster is merely to reflect this reality.

Wherever you may be on 25 May, have a fabulous Happy Africa Liberation Day!

Second-Hand Tyres? Almost Second Nature to Ghanaian drivers!

Offlate, there's been quite a bit of discussion about road safety in Ghana. Beyond driver error, the patronage of second-hand car tyres remains a serious bane to ensuring road safety.

Apart from the fact that the World Health Organisation has declared 2011 as the beginning of the "Road Safety decade" (and used 11 May to launch it), Ghana's National Road Safety Commission has launched its third National Road Safety Strategy (NRSSIII) in Accra.

Interestingly, the NRSC has caught up with Facebook, and can be found at this link here: http://www.facebook.com/pages/National-Road-Safety-Commission-NRSC-Ghana/312888131523?sk=wall#!/pages/National-Road-Safety-Commission-NRSC-Ghana/312888131523?sk=info.

Safe driving...wherever you may be!

Accra Gears up its Urban Transport with Bus Rapid Transit system

In September 2010, I wrote a fairly lengthy piece about the impending Bus Rapid Transit system (BRT), which you can read here: http://accradailyphoto.blogspot.com/2010/09/ghanas-experimentation-with-bus-rapid.html.

Seeking not to repeat myself, I would also like to add that the picture I have here speaks volumes about what motives of the BRT. Just to add, finally, that I took this in the Central region of Kasoa, ...which is very close to the capital!

Vanity Plates of Nigerian Cars in Ghana!

I used to call vanity plates "personalised" plates -- till I was corrected a few years ago. I could not think of a more apt description for these number plates.

Needless to say that they're a common feature in Ghana--I have featured it on this blog before--but this picture just takes the West African solidarity of supporting and hating everything-Nigerian contemporaneously  to ridiculous proportions...

Honestly, this is a Nigerian vanity plate. A Ghanaian who has watched enough of Nigerian films would know, because the IGBOs are reported to be from south-eastern Nigeria.

At first sight, seeing "I G80" would not make anything sense, but I guess seeing it from this "perspective" makes the reality of vanity plates of Nigerians in Ghana a more acceptable...reality?

Welcome to the Kwame Nkrumah Circle!

If you have ever heard what sounds like "sec-sec-sec!...sec-sec-sec!" around Accra, I can assure you it is nothing mysterious, but the call by tro-tro mates for passengers to board the mini-bus (known as tro-tros) down to Accra's "Kwame Nkrumah Circle".

In other words: this place in the picture I took. This is the major roundabout, with a fairly new sign that exhorts Accra residents to keep the city "clean".

Now, with a number of illiterates among the informal sector, I continue to ask myself how they can understand the note--let alone live up to the principle!!