Driving through parts of the Ridge residential area in the Kumasi metropolis reminds me of my grandfather's cocoa farm located deep in the heart of a forest at Manhyia, a farming community near Abuom in the Brong Ahafo Region.
Just like Ridge, the cocoa farm at Manhyia is almost encircled with a forest, where the farming community totally depends.
Streams that provide fresh water for the community and for other domestic chores also flow in the forest that harbours wildlife, and where the youth in the farming community go for game for their delicacies.
It is therefore not surprising to see residents at Manhyia trooping in and out of the forest from dawn to dusk for one reason or the other.
Like Manhyia, Ridge also has its fair share of a forest, which stretches, from the Ridge Park — which is used as the training grounds for the 2007/08 Premier league Champions, Kumasi Asante Kotoko — to the Fault Section of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG).
The forest at Ridge also covers the stretch from the Sergeant's Mess on the Bekwai Roundabout–Golden Tulip Kumasi City Hotel road, to the area directly opposite the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly Head Office.
Another stretch of forest also engulfs the Regional Offices in Kumasi, and in all cases, they perfectly act as potential tourist attractions in the Kumasi metropolis.
In the afternoons, when the sun is very high in the skies and emitting its rays causing residents to sweat profusely, the Ridge Forest offers a haven for commuters, pedestrians and soccer fans who pass through the area.
The fresh air that surrounds the area reduces the heat that emit from the skies, thereby making the sun’s ray a bit bearable.
Because of the density of the forest at the Ridge area, the climate there is also totally different from the rest of the Kumasi metropolis.
This explains why any form of rainfall in the Kumasi metropolis is always heavier at that portion of the land than any part of the metropolis, just as it happens at the forest that surrounds my grandfather's cocoa farm.
The only difference is that, while the forest at Manhyia has been left there for a purpose and therefore is not weeded at any point in time, that of the Ridge is sometimes cleared, to enhance the beauty of Kumasi to enable it to reflect its Garden City accolade.
Ironically, the Ridge Forest at most times is left uncleared, causing the grasses and shrubs to overgrow, creating a conducive abode for all sorts of reptiles and deviants in society.
The efforts by the police and other security apparatus to curb the spate of armed robbery in the country become more daunting if certain people fail to do their work.
When the Daily Graphic contacted the Ashanti Regional Police Commander, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCOP) Kwaku Ayensu Opare-Addo, on the irregular clearing of weeds at the Ridge area, he said it posed a security threat to residents of the metropolis and its environs.
"Armed robbers and drug addicts can easily use it as a place of abode, and so it should be cleared at regular intervals," he stated.
He pointed out that since the area was also very dark at night, commuters who used the area at such hours could easily be attacked by armed robbers and others deviants in society, "especially when your vehicle breaks down at odd hours at that portion of land".
Mr Opare-Addo pointed out that in as much as the police were poised to combat crime in a more effective and efficient way, the need to create a conducive atmosphere that would enhance their operations was also key to crime combat and prevention.
He, therefore, urged the Environmental Unit of the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly to collaborate with the police by regularly clearing weedy areas to prevent criminals from using them as hiding places where they could either attack law-abiding residents or hide after unleashing their venom on civil society.
When the Daily Graphic contacted the Head of the Environmental Unit of the KMA, Mr A. L. Antwi, he said the gangs in charge of clearing the area had started their work.
"They weed the area regularly but because of the heavy rains this year, the area overgrows very rapidly, making it look as if we have neglected it."
He mentioned that they were mandated to regularly clear the stretch from the traffic lights to the ECG fault section, the Golden Tulip, Kumasi City Hotel as well as the bungalows surrounding the Ridge to enhance the beauty of the area, thereby promoting adequate security.
Mr Antwi said some portions of the area were, however, supposed to be cleared by the Parks and Gardens Department "but they have neglected it, and this has added to the volume of work that we have to undertake on regular basis".
He also attributed the inability of the Environmental Unit of the KMA to meet some of their obligations to the strength of their workforce.
"We do not have the requisite number of people supposed to clear the area on regular basis, hence the area sometimes overgrow,” he said.
Mr Kofi Asante, a businessman in Kumasi who uses the stretch frequently, expressed concern about the lack of attention by the city authorities.
"There are no street lights at the portion to add to the beauty of Kumasi, and the overgrown weeds also do not only pose security threat to residents but also undermine the tourist potential in Kumasi as well."
He pointed out that with the refurbishment of the Golden Tulip Kumasi City Hotel, "tourists are likely to use the facility on regular basis, so the KMA should be up to the task by putting up street lights to reduce the risk of using the stretch".
"We do not want to hear any act of violence which could lead to the loss of precious life at that area before the KMA acts. This is because life is precious," he stressed.
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