‘We Cannot Build Green Cities Driving Land Cruisers for 1km’ —Hon John Darko Backs Bike Lanes, Rails to Cut Carbon Footprint
Gladson Afriyie
Journalist
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The Member of Parliament for Suame, Hon. John Darko, has thrown his weight behind calls for greener cities, saying Parliament must “walk the talk” by starting with practical steps like bicycle lanes for MPs.
Commenting on a statement by Berekum West MP Hon. Dickson Kyere-Duah on World Environment Day, Hon. Darko said the push for sustainable urban transport must begin with lawmakers themselves.
“Mr Speaker, I rise to support the statement made by my brother, the Honourable Member for Berekum West, on the need for us to build greener cities in this country.”
He agreed that Ghana’s cities are far from global green standards due to congestion, emissions, and poor planning. “Mr Speaker, it is true. If you look at Accra, if you look at Kumasi, even in my own constituency Suame, the amount of time we spend in traffic, the fumes from vehicles, it is not helping our health and it is not helping our environment.”
He pointed to Denmark, Amsterdam, and Canada as examples of cities prioritizing bicycles, and Switzerland for its trams and trains. “Accra is not that big. There are places if you have good bike lanes people can ride bicycle. But because we don’t have bike lanes in this country, everybody, even for a kilometer, people will be driving the Land Cruisers and the big vehicles.”
*Challenge to Parliament:*
Hon. Darko said lawmakers cannot legislate green transport while refusing to change their own habits.
“Mr Speaker, my brother spoke about bicycle lanes. I think it is a brilliant idea. But charity must begin at home. Let us start by creating bicycle lanes right here in Parliament. Let us encourage MPs to ride bicycles to work when we can,” he said.
“Mr Speaker, how can we tell Ghanaians to leave their cars and use bicycles when we ourselves are driving V8s for even short distances? We must lead by example.”
The Suame MP also endorsed investment in rail and non-motorized transport corridors. “Mr Speaker, we have talked about rail lines for years. It is time to move from talk to action. If we want to reduce our carbon footprint, we must give people alternatives to cars.”
