Some major roads in Accra have been closed temporarily as Ghana hosts a special ECOWAS meeting.
President Akufo-Addo is hosting a consultative meeting with the ECOWAS leaders to discuss the crisis in Mali and so, it has become necessary to close some major roads to ease movement of diplomats who have been attending the meeting at Peduase Lodge, in the Eastern Region.
The Motor Traffic and Transport Department (MTTD) of the Ghana Police Service announced yesterday that major roads in Accra would be closed.
Six major roads still closed
The six major roads in the capital still closed temporarily to accommodate the visit by the ECOWAS leaders include the route from Kotoka International Airport to the Liberation Road at Opeibea, the airport bypass to Giffard Road through to the Liberation Road, and the stretch from the Kempinski Hotel to the National Theatre on Independence Avenue.
The other roads affected are the Liberation Road through to the N4 to Peduase Lodge, the Liberation Road from the 37 Military Hospital to Obasanjo Street and on to the Tang Palace Hotel in the Airport Residential Area and the Independence Avenue to Ako Adjei.
The police have advised motorists to adhere to traffic regulations, saying: “Motorists should park on the right when they see a convoy approaching.”
Mali crisis
Leaders from at least eight countries in the sub-region have been taking part in today’s ECOWAS meeting.
As chairman of ECOWAS, President Akufo-Addo will deliberate with other heads of state on measures to resolve the political crisis in Mali.
Mali is currently without a democratic government following the overthrow of President Ibrahim Keïta last month. Many regional and international actors have condemned the coup.
In the lead-up to the meeting, Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, Ghana’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, said that President Akufo-Addo hopes to prevent an escalation of the tensions in Mali by reaching a consensus.
“The consultative meeting being convened by the chair of the Authority of Heads of States and Government on the political situation in Mali on 15 September 2020 at Peduase is part of the mediation efforts of ECOWAS to return Mali to constitutional rule and to prevent them from deteriorating further,” she said.
E A Alanore
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