Some community members of Datoyili, a suburb of the Tamale Metropolis, are unhappy over the city authority’s inability to put to use the newly constructed bus terminal located within the area.
According to them, the terminal when put into use will attract more vehicles and investors to patronize the facility thereby increase revenue for the assembly in addition to enhancing development in the area.
The Datoyili bus terminal project was initiated by the former Chief Executive of the Tamale Metropolitan Assembly, Abdul Hanan Gundaadow with funding from the World Bank under the Urban Development Grant.
The assembly secured land at Datoyili and constructed the modern bus terminal and other auxiliary facilities for buses that ply the Tamale – Kumasi corridor to operate from.
The facility which cost the assembly GHC 1.9 million was to help decongest the Central Business District, particularly the main bus terminal in the metropolis.
However, the facility has been abandoned and taken over by weeds and reptiles ever since its completion for almost six years.
When Tamale based Diamond FM News team visited the new Datoyili bus terminal, the place had been left to rot.
Some of the residents of Datoyili who shared their unhappiness with Diamond FM said “moving the long buses to this terminal will go a long way to enhance socio-economic activities in the area and also create jobs for the youth in the area”.
Abdul Gafaru Kayaba also indicated that “the central business district is in the center of Tamale and we all know that place is chocked and this facility is here wasting, so I want to call on the new mayor to take a critical look at it”.
“His predecessor Superior couldn’t do it, and that’s part of the failed things people still talk about so I personally expect the new Mayor to take interest in decongesting the city and we know that the decongestion can’t happen without this terminal being operational”, he added.
Another resident Issah Mohammed lamented that, “the city authorities should know that tax payers’ monies are going waste because this facility is rotting here and not generating any money to the assembly”.
Some drivers and union executives at the Tamale main bus terminal who also spoke to Diamond FM said the facility was originally not designed to accommodate them, therefore moving to the new terminal could pose inconveniences to their operations.
They indicated that they were not against the relocation to the Datoyili bus terminal, but wanted city authorities to put the facility into good shape including providing enough security and other structures to handle passengers and luggage.
Story by: Yakubu Alhassan | www.diamondfmonline.com
