"A Call for Paved Roads"
Kumasi - "It's all mud out there, I can barely make it a mile from my home without my wheels getting dug into the ground!" one Asanteman said. Another, a trader exclaimed "I regularly cart goods from here west to Bechem, and I can say without a doubt that when you leave Kumasi, the going is terrible." Even a general in our Asantehene military said "I could cut the travel time in half, no, a two thirds, if we got some proper roads and infrastructure outside of Kumasi. The Asateman we bring from our capital to expand our great kingdom would be able to travel back periodically and visit their homes in the city, and more importantly, I would be able to travel back and visit my home in the city more often if we had better roads. It would be in everyone's interest to pave over the mud paths and clear ways through the forest!"
The guild of merchants and industries agrees with the desire to expand infrastructure beyond the capital. Their spokesman talked with our reporters today, and outlined the proposal they handed into the city government. They advocated for the construction of two interstate turnpikes, connecting west out of Kumasi to the state of the Ivory Coast, and one East to Dahomey. These turnpikes would be paved over in stone, connecting old mud and earth trails previously used. They argue that this would greatly benefit the economy, allowing for quicker transportation of goods and raw materials in and out of the city, furthering economic integration of the outer regions. A group of concerned citizens, belonging to the Club for the Greatness of Ashanti, have signed onto the proposal as well. They cite having read about lands in Europe, and Asia, where the roads don't end at the city limits. They desire to see that happen in the Kingdom of Ashanti, so that we may continue our expansion throughout Western Africa at a far quicker pace.
Our reporters probed the city government, and the provincial government as to their opinion on these proposals, but got very little response. "The government, under the wise leadership of Asantehene, will consider the proposal like we do with all other proposals, and judge its merits in regards to all other options on the table." Historically, little has been done in regards to expanding infrastructure with rather apathetic responses from city elders. Several times in the past decade or has the idea of expanding the paved roads out of Kumasi been brought up, but each time has been passed over in favor of various other expenditures seen as more prudent. In the past, cost has been the major concern in paving the earth paths outside of the city, especially in regards to the maintenance. There have been doubts as to the ability of stone paths to survive the monsoon season, fear that the excess water would erode the stone quickly, or that it would sink back into the mud making sections impassable. Upkeep as well has been cited as reason to avoid paved roads, as an earthen path is far easier to create and fix compared to one set in stone. As this proposal gains recognition, we are likely to see these debates crop up again from those who oppose paved road expansion.
But, the merchants are hopeful this time around. "With the end to the Moslem rebellion in Guinea, the government should be free from foreign affairs to look inwards once again at domestic concerns. We are very positive they will accept our proposal to pave the roads out of Kumasi, we have a very strong argument and a lot of backing this time around. 1831 is the year for this to happen!"
