Rejoinder: ABANDONED ACCIDENT TRUCK IN KALEO POSES SAFETY RISK

All those who are sceptical about The Trial New will be persuaded today of the gains it is reaping for communities, and the problem reported on May 31 regarding the truck accident posing a looming threat to residents is being handled by the authorities involved. It is claimed that the truck travelled all the way from Burkina Faso because the commodities are more important to them than the risk it poses to citizens in Ghana. If this is any indication to go by, the security of Kaleo residents is not of the utmost importance to us as a nation. The truth is bitter!

However, it is indisputable that the residents of Kaleo in the Nadowli-Klaeo District of the Upper West Region, who have long lived a squeamish life for months with an unimaginable, continuous, and excruciating threat from this untowed long vehicle that nearly toppled and somersaulted over in the heart of town and remained stuck by the roadside, can now hope for and experience a semblance of relief from the imminent dangers of death and property destruction.

Perhaps the people are most grateful for the attempt and are hoping in a split second they can take a sigh of relief. I know not who engineered this benevolent attempt for the indigents to receive some sort of respite from the looming threat in its seeming neglect for that long after 'The Trial News' reported on it, but what is common knowledge is that life is taken away in microseconds and not in months, let alone years.

Take it or leave it, I am convinced that the items are more important than the safety of inhabitants and property, assuming that the towing vehicle came all the way from Burkina Faso, as the registration number clearly indicates. If this is the case, it is unquestionably a terrible reflection of our people.

What is worrying is our collective lack of proactive protectiveness as a community and a nation. We are usually waiting for the worst to happen before attempting to rescue things, and by that time, lives have been lost and property destroyed. The tales of the same attitudes ingrained in our culture are innumerable, and the deteriorating Kaleo Dam is where to start: a complete zone of danger threatening to kill innocent lives. and the damage of property. Unfortunately, this does not involve a strange country, and any gullible can estimate our faith in the Kaleo Dam's dangerous state among the people.

Indeed, we are living in a time that we have migrated from the gospel of Lamentations to Ezekiel (God will strengthen us), absolutely living in despair and disdain. For the potholes on our roads, the less talked about them, the better. One cannot simply fathom why flooding is an annual ritual in our townships and cities in this country regime after regime. Go to Qatar, Holland and other places to see cities in water or waterlogged areas and possibly below sea level that are bedevilled by natural water flooding.

Likewise, the big market centres and fire outbreaks in the major cities every now and then have become inseparable and intrinsically acceptable in our way of life. These natural disasters are like Tom and Jerry, whose rousing artistic performances never cease to continue to boomerang. You ask yourself what we are not getting right as a society, and it is obvious to note that it is borne out of our insatiable genotypical greed, hypocrisy, selfishness, and over-aggressiveness in relying upon the gospel according to Ezekiel, where pragmatism is left to divinity.

This cycle of destruction and resilience forces us to confront the underlying issues that fuel such calamities. It is a stark reminder that without a collective commitment to change, we may find ourselves trapped in an endless loop of chaos and complacency. The people of Kaleo will love to see expeditious actions taken up by individuals or agencies in our own country, who are inundated with responsibilities by the state to salvage the abandoned long truck by the roadside and the eroded dam in the face of the community.

These potential threats are just an eyesore for any modern civilisation. Restoring these essential structures, like in the example of the abandoned truck by the roadside, would not only improve the landscape and security by providing a guarantee, but would also demonstrate the community's resilience and resolve to grow. By working together to address these concerns, Kaleo folks can pave the road for a brighter, more sustainable future. I cannot continue to wonder our way of life anymore.