The Motor Traffic and Transport Department (MTTD) of the Ghana Police service has come out with modalities to ease traffic congestion in the Cape Coast Metropolis ahead of the 65th Independence Day celebrations which will be held at the Cape Coast Sports Stadium On Sunday 6th March.
According to a release issued by the MTTD, the following traffic management measures have been put in place to descongest traffic at the venue and within the town:
1. All vehicles without passes and car permits would not be allowed entry into the Cape Coast stadium
2. Against this backdrop, police shuttle buses have been provided to shuttle all spectators to the Cape Coast sports stadium. Spectators are to park their vehicles at the following venues and join the shuttle buses:
A. Jubilee park at Bakaano
B. CNC Park opposite UCC first GATE on Takoradi – cape coast highway
C. AGGREY MEMORIAL A.M.E. ZION SNR HIGH SCHOOL – After Moree Toll Booth, on Accra- Cape Coast Highway (N1)
D. ADISADEL Sports Stadium, near Pedu Junction, on Siwdo Road.
E. Spectators from Jukwa, Kakumdo, Ensuakyir, Ankafo will park at Wesley Girls Senior High School.
The statement further indicated that the Cape Stadium Road will be blocked from at dawn on Sunday at Kwamina Walker Street junction and UCC School of Medical Sciences Mortuary junction.
It also indicated that only Vehicles with approved passes will be allowed access to the Cape Coast Stadium.
Read also: Central Regional Police poised for the 65th Independence Anniversary
Earlier, the Regional Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the Central Regional Police Command Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Irene Serwaah Oppong, hinted that security personnel both in uniform and plain cloths have been deployed to be at vantage points mandated to conduct searches and also assist invited guests.
According to her, access to the stadium had been limited to the vehicles of some designated guests and the security services, adding that unauthorized parking would not be allowed
While urging the general public to use the alternative routes provided, DSP Irene Serwaah Oppong also said the public must cooperate with security officers.
“men would be stationed at vantage points to conduct searches and assist invited guests to the parade grounds” she said
She said access to the stadium had been limited to the vehicles of some designated guests and the security services, adding that unauthorized parking would not be allowed.
She also charged motorists to use alternative routes and urged the public to cooperate with security officers.
Invited guests to the Independence Parade were also encouraged to carry their invitation cards to the venue to enable them to access the vehicle parking lots.
The Independence Day celebration has in recent years been moved from Accra, where it had been held in time past, to Tamale in the Northern Region, Kumasi in the Ashanti Region and now to Cape Coast, in the Central Region.
The decentralization of the national event is to bring meaning, experience and the story of the country’s independence closer to Ghanaians across the country.
After decades of political struggle by the ‘Big Six’, Dr Kwame Nkrumah, who later led the Convention People’s Party (CPP) in the push for independence, became the first Prime Minister of the colony from 1954 to 1956, and subsequently became the first President when Ghana finally gained independent on March 6, 1957.
On the eve of Ghana’s Independence on March 5, 1957, Dr Nkrumah declared Ghana as an independent country from British colonial rule at the Old Polo Grounds in Accra.
Beyond the normal parade and speeches on Sunday, the event ground is expected to be flooded with personalities in traditional wear, mainly Kente to showcase the rich culture of Ghana.
Thousands of very important personalities, including high-ranking members of the security services will join the President on the dais, while notable organizations and schoolchildren to march at the event.
