Under the auspices of the Greater-Accra Regional Coordinating Council and a number of municipal assemblies in the national capital, Ecobank Ghana and a number of other corporate organizations have joined forces to light up the majors streets and roundabouts in the city of Accra for this Christmas.
The project, dubbed “Light Up The City 2021” was executed by Jandel and Mullen-Lowe, and also has other corporate organizations such as MTN, Unilever, Duraplast, Absa, Access Bank, FBN Bank, The Enterprise Group, Qualiplast, Wire Weaving Industries, and a few others.
This is the third edition of Lighting Up The City, and Ecobank has always been part of the project, aimed at creating a bright and exciting atmosphere in the city at night during the festive season.
This year’s Light Up The City, which will benefit Accra and Kumasi, has been taken a notch higher in terms of the designs and reach, to restore some brightness and joy to Ghanaians, after having gone through a difficult year due to Covid-19.
In a speech read on his behalf, Managing Director of Ecobank Ghana, Dan Sackey drew a line between “Light Up The City” and Ecobank’s digital banking service, saying that everyone need their phones to light up before they can access Ecobank’s digital banking services, so the bank saw it fit to always be part of the project to light up the city.
He said “As a leading financial services provider, Ecobank has a lot to be thankful for this year. This is because, in spite of the many devastating effects of the COVID-19 pandemic globally, we have continued to remain one of the leading and topmost performing banks in Ghana.”
According to him, its digital banking platform, Ecobank Mobile App has been the main driving force behind its sterling performance during the pandemic year because through the platform, it was able to to provide convenient solutions to the market.
“We do this in the hope that every individual can easily open and operate a bank account, make payments and send remittances to other people, on the back of the numerous self-service solutions deployed by the bank. Everyone can do this without visiting any of the bank’s branches” he said. “You are encouraged to do this remotely, especially, in these times of COVID-19, when we are grappling with the new variant, Omicron.”
Dan Sackey said Ecobank’s diigital banking service is also available *770# on any registered SIM, adding that it is seamless and hustle-free, thereby bringing convenience to all.
He urged all Ghanaians to “commit to adopting the habit of buying and selling online and, most importantly, making all payments and funds transfers electronically.”
Greater-Accra Regional Minister, Henry Quartey, who has in recent times been in the news for his aggressive and strategic approach to beautifying the capital city and ensuring discipline, noted that the “Light Up The City” Project is a key component of the “Operation Clean Your Frontage” campaign launched by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to ensure citizens took responsibility for cleaning, greening and beautifying their immediate surroundings.
He said currently, Ghanaians are enjoying a grace period, but come January 1, 2022, the by-law to back the Clean Your Frontage initiative will kick in and anyone found culpable will face the full rigors of the law.
The Regional Minister also announced that, the same by-law is designed to ensure that all automated tricycles (popularly known as Aboboyaa) would be limited to specific communities per the number plates they use, and anyone found operating outside of their designated area of operation will be prosecuted.
Henry Quartey also assured Ghanaians that the law will also be strictly enforced to ensure that motorbike riders wear the right gear and also obeyed traffic rules just like all other vehicles on the road.
Currently, motorbike riders in Accra and Kumasi, in particular, have no regard for road signs and traffic lights. The ride on road shoulders and on the middle line of roads just to beat traffic, and when they get to the traffic light they just ride on even when the light is red.
But government has acquired new and faster motorbikes for the police to make it possible to chase down and arrest violators of the by-law beginning January 1, 2022.
Meanwhile, CEO of Jandel, Afi Amoro said this year’s Light Up The City will have a special feature, which is a float on December 31, 2021. It will start from various parts of the city and all the teams will end at the Nationalism Park where there is be a festive occasion for all to enjoy.
