Public Affairs

The taxi driver was surprised when I suggested he drop me in Osu so that I could walk the remaining 3 kilometres to the Accra city centre. It was hot and his fee had effectively been reduced by 30%. Walking down Cantonments Road, continuing to Independence Square should be one of those wonderful processes of anticipation as one gets closer to the visual celebration of Africa’s first independent state. Instead of keeping my eye on the unfolding of this spectacle however, my eyes were on the sidewalk. Dodging potholes, scrambling over piles of bricks and competing with oncoming traffic and traders on narrow strips, I felt my rights as a pedestrian severely infringed upon.

When I was able to raise my eyes from this continuous obstacle course, I was distracted by the ubiquitous mobile phone advertisements; MTN, Zain and Vodafone dominate. The cacophony of colours and typefaces is discernable on small hotel walls, shops fronts (sides, backs and tops sometimes), bus terminals and benches. And of course the billboards; Vodafone flashes its glamour while Zain’s colour palette is a strange but attractive blend of mint green and light magenta. MTN is most poignant in its portrayal of children physically illustrating how wide, fast and well connected its network is. Mobile telephony has enabled the leapfrogging that makes landline telephony seem almost quant. It connects friends and family, enables social and economic networks and is a constant reminder of the importance of communication. I find it ironic however, that whilst we are constantly reminded in the public realm that connection is only a phone call away, moving 500m by foot is beset with difficulties.

My experience of Accra city centre is that its users walk, trade and network on the streets. Air-conditioned offices and underground parking may provide a middle-class reprieve from the outside bustle but I would argue that the majority of Accra folk (as in other African cities) find their way around the city centre on foot. We celebrate connection and transcendence of space yet the normal and most celebrated way of movement is constrained by a lack of very simple infrastructure. Perhaps the yellow MTN sponsored bus shelter provides us with a clue here. Why not assign a levy on mobile phone company advertisements and use this funding to upgrade the physical environment? Somehow I think it is not the mobile phone companies that would object. The problem is public.