The sight of huge cows – their horns dangerously resting on their heads – taking over the streets of the Roman Ridge area of Accra is a scary sight for the many who are not used to such spectacles. It is a daily feature as the ruminants head for their grazing grounds around the Jack And Jill School. The livestock cross over from Accra Girls Senior High School impudently, with their owners mostly nowhere to be found.

The animals sometimes stop vehicular movements momentarily as they move majestically towards the patches of grass in the neighbourhood.

All motorists can do is wait for the ruminants to give way eventually so they can continue their trips.

The relevant municipal assembly must, of course, be held responsible for the nuisance caused motorists and the possible danger posed by the rearing of livestock in residential areas. The lax attitude of the assemblies is the reason why the animals can move from Mamobi and the surrounding areas to the aforementioned part of the city as though there are regulations guiding such occupations.

It is unacceptable if cattle can roam our streets sometimes along ceremonial routes, creating untold inconveniences to motorists and even pedestrians.

The MCEs of the assemblies in question must understand their terms of reference and work accordingly regardless of whose ox is gored.

We must not wait for these animals to cause damage to property and even injuries to humans before the relevant by-laws are activated.

Regulations are enacted to ensure decency in our communities but where these become dormant because the assemblies dread stepping on some toes they are not living up to the expectations of the appointing authority. A situation where human beings are allowed to live with herds of cattle within the nation’s capital is an anomaly which should not be allowed under any circumstances.

The possibility of animal to human transmission of diseases should not be ignored at all. Unfortunately, this is the picture we see in some parts of Accra over the years.

Those who accept government appointments must be seen to be performing their assigned roles. Showing signs of cowardice and avoiding the enforcement of regulations as in the case of allowing herds of cattle to roam the Roman Ridge is inappropriate and must be stemmed immediately.

A regular monitoring of the performance of MCEs and DCEs must be conducted to determine their efficiency or otherwise.

Cattle taking over the streets of segments of the nation’s capital especially in the general area of the road leading to the international airport could be the story some tourists would take home when they end their visits to the country.