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”How can government forget us after discovering oil here? we were told a factory would be built here to provide jobs for we the young ones but they have decided to send those things to other areas. When it is campaign time, they will come here in their V8s to deceive us to vote for them, but once elections are over, they all vanish only to resurface four years later. From next year, we will start taking action even if means killing some of these politicians”.
What you just read is the lamentations of James, a young man who has spent all his life living in Cape Three Points, one of the historic towns in the Ahanta West Municipality of the Western Region. According to him, their community has no significant infrastructure to boast of despite the area being a historic town in terms of the development of Ghana.
”Look, oil was found here but since 2010, but instead of it becoming something good for us here, we are rather suffering. Can you imagine that anytime, we go to sea for fishing, the only thing our nets catch is the debris from the drilling of crude oil in the sea?’, James lamented.
Where is Cape Three Points?
Cape Three Points is a peninsula and a small fishing village in the Western Region of Ghana, located on the Atlantic coast. It’s known for being the southernmost point of mainland Ghana. The area is characterized by a coastal rainforest, rolling hills, and beautiful beaches, making it a popular spot for tourism.
- Southernmost Point: Cape Three Points is the southernmost tip of Ghana.
- Lighthouse: A historic lighthouse, first built in 1875 and later replaced in 1925, stands at the cape and serves as a navigational aid.
- Coastal Rainforest: The area is home to Ghana’s only coastal rainforest reserve.
- Tourism: The region attracts visitors for its natural beauty, beaches, hiking opportunities, and cultural attractions.
- Wildlife: Whale and dolphin migrations occur along the coast during certain times of the year, making it a good spot for wildlife viewing.
- Fishing Village: Cape Three Points is also a small, active fishing village.
- Near Null Island: It’s the land closest to Null Island, which is at 0° latitude and 0° longitude.
A NEGLECTED COMMUNITY
Despite the rich natural resources in Cape Three Points, it can be classified as one of the poorest and most neglected communities in the country. From poor healthcare and educational infrastructure, to poor road network, the residents here are only living through divine benevolence as most of the young people are without higher education and jobs.
”Sometimes we wonder if we are part of Ghana. When you go round our community which I am sure you have done, you can see that nobody cares about us’, another young man who gave his name as Joseph bemoaned.
He said,” anytime I hear government say, they are in to develop the country, I get angry. Just look at the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority, they make so much money from the Lighthouse here but they don’t care about the community”.
A trip through the small fishing village reveals a community with terrible roads and a market that can best be described as just a place for gathering temporarily. The only school in the area, is in a very bad shape as the floors are in poor form and toilet facility that has become home to snakes and other reptiles posing a threat to the lives of the school children.
”Just before the rains, our roof was taken off by the wind and it had to take the community to fix it. We are only two here but the others(three) live in a neighbouring town and so it makes teaching the kids difficult’, Gyako, a teacher of only basic school in the area told channel247online.com’s Musah Lansah.
Healthcare in Cape Three Points is another big deal as the only Community Health Planning Services(CHPS) compound has only two nurses. At the time of our visit to the facility, the staff were out of town for a workshop in the regional capital, Takoradi.
We however learnt that, one of the two nurses has been transferred out of the area but a replacement is yet to be made.
PHOBIA TO THE RESCUE
Cape Three Points is a tourist attraction site hence getting a vehicle to the community should not be a problem for anyone who wants to go there. But alas, to visit the community will require serious prayers of meeting the only minibus that goes there which has been christened ”Phobia”, else you will have to postpone your trip there.
Phobia leaves Cape Three Points early morning to Agona Nkwanta where it stays till midday before making a return trip to the community. But what is the cause of this?
”Our roads are so bad that vehicle owners are afraid to put their cars on our route. So if you want to go to Takoradi, you must wake up early to join Phobia else you may have to join a motorbike to the next town which is about an hour away before getting a vehicle”, a resident explained.
The roads leading to the historic town are in such terrible state that, residents pray against torrential rains and these prayers sadly are not answered ones as the area is part of the only rainforest areas we have in Ghana.
”We suffer a lot and we appeal to government to work on just our roads for us”, a tricycle operator told channel247online.com.
”GALAMSEY”, A CREEPING DANGER
In the midst of the challenges confronting Cape Three Points, there is a creeping menace rearing its ugly head in the area and that is illegal mining.
Aside the historic location of the town, the area is reach in natural resources as it is home to some rubber plantations, other natural vegetations and lately the discovery of gold by some persons who are not natives of the area.
”The last few months, some people in this town brought in some strangers who have started mining in our forest. The chief has tried stopping them but they still persist with their activities”, a resident told us.
We took a trip to the forest to see what exactly the illegal miners were up and we found out that they had started mining inside one of the tributaries linking to the Gulf of Guinea. Though they were present probably due to the heavy rains which had been on for three days, we found evidence of their work in the form of their clothes, generator set and other machines used to mine in water bodies.
The residents led by the chief appealed to the government to intervene in order to prevent the destruction of their sources of water.
”As we speak, the source of water whenever we go to the farms have been polluted by these people”, the resident revealed.
A TICKING TIME-BOMB
From our interaction with the residents especially the young men, they are living in pain knowing that their community deserves better but has been neglected by successive governments.
”We the youth have suffered in silence for a long time. All we get from politicians is promise upon promise but we are now tired. Mark it on the wall, we will soon start killing them if they come here to make promises”, a very angry young man who only gave his name as Yaw threatened.
”Watch out, very soon we will all buy the guns and take over the Light-House which has not been beneficial to us and anyone who tries to stop will be dealt with”, he fumed.
Source:channel247online.com/Musah Lansah
Yaw Boagyan
Rafiq Adam
