The letters page of the Daily Graphic is one of my favourite features and I am always disappointed when the page is replaced by something more mundane. Sometimes there are letters commenting on major current issues, but more often than not, the correspondence is of a much more random and often highly parochial nature. There might be a letter of praise for the service provided by the DVLA office in Kumasi, or a complaint about noise from a specific church in Sunyani, or a demand for more litter bins or a request for a new public library somewhere.
The 9th January edition contained missives on the following topics: the Chairman of the Tema East Constituency writing to refute an accusation that he had been arrested; a complaint about charges made for senior school certificates (one of a small number which illicit a response from the relevant authority – in this case a letter from the West African Examinations Council stating that charging was not authorised); a plea to increase the size of the 1 pesewa coin; another plea to community members not to dig trenches in tarred roads as makeshift traffic control measures; a request to reinstate railways as a means of transporting cocoa; a reminder to thank God for continued peace during and after the elections and a letter suggesting it was inappropriate to suggest that God chose the new president as, in the author’s view, both main parties had rigged polls and that, therefore, God would not be associated with such malpractice.
A letter in the paper on the 4th August last year particularly caught my eye. Godwin Yirenkyi was expressing concern about the dangerous traffic on the Mamfe-Koforidua road (a view I can fully support) but he went on to comment on the condition of the Mmetiamu Bridge. I have not been able to find out more about this bridge from other sources, so must rely upon the accuracy of his text:
“Near the Asuoyaa Bridge and close to the former Accra-Kumasi railway line is another unique bridge built over the Densu River in 1911 by the Swiss missionary and civil engineer, Jacob Isliker, on behalf of the enterprising pioneer cocoa farmers who migrated from the Akuapem Mountains to establish the early cocoa farms around the river. Called the Mmetiamu footbridge and known locally as the “wharf”, it is one of the oldest bridges in the country and though it looks strong, the need for some maintenance cannot be ruled out. The tourism importance of this bridge would be appreciated when it is recalled that is probably the only one of its kind in Africa. Dr Polly Hill, formerly of the University of Ghana in her book, “Migrant Cocoa Farmers of Southern Ghana (1970)”, described it as “a splendid and historic landmark that should be preserved as a monument to the business enterprise of the first cocoa farmers due to its uniqueness in Africa”.”
It took seven months before I finally got round to seeing the Mmetiamu Bridge for myself. The first weekend in February, Dan and I cycled four miles down the Mamfe road through Mile 50 and Okorase to Old Asuoyaa. A further mile along an unsealed road brought us to New Asuoyaa, a small farming community. We locked our bikes around a convenient electricity pole and asked a group of farmers sitting in a shady spot for directions to the bridge. One of them, in his green wellingtons (sensible protection against snake bites) immediately stood up and said, ‘lets go’. He led us a few hundred yards round the village to a very precarious railway bridge over the river. I knew this wasn’t the bridge we wanted and asked tentatively for the ‘wharf’. Comprehension dawned and we set off again along the railway line. At Asuoyaa’s long redundant station we met a couple of men moulding mud building blocks. We walked a good mile along the single track, through a cutting and out on to an embankment, before dropping down to the Densu River. The final approach was through elderly cocoa trees.
The Mmetiamu Bridge does not disappoint. Constructed from a framework of solid wooden beams and topped with a buttressed roof of corrugated iron, it looks a very substantial structure. Closer inspection shows that many of the elements have been seriously compromised by woodworm. A few of the floor boards have been replaced but there is no evidence of any more serious maintenance. Just short of its centenary, there seems little chance of the bridge surviving far into its second century.
The bridge occupies a very peaceful spot. The Densu is narrow here and barely moves at this time of year. The banks are densely overgrown, but there was another farmer nearby tending a neatly cleared plot of cabbages. He said that his great grandfather had led the local construction team for Isliker. He was adamant that the bridge was constructed in 1808, but this would give him some exceptionally robust ancestors and mean that it predated the arrival of cocoa in Ghana by some seventy years.
We returned to New Asuoyaa with our guide. He asked nothing for the hour plus he had spent with us, but we insisted on giving him a ‘dash’ for his trouble.
Godwin Yirenkyi’s letter ended with an appeal to the Ghana Cocoa Board and other stakeholders to preserve the Mmetiamu Bridge as a tourist attraction. The original route (probably to Suhum, west of Koforidua) used by the cocoa farmers has long been superseded by the road, so the bridge had little practical potential. It would be great shame to see it disintegrate further, but its fate looks sealed.
The 9th January edition contained missives on the following topics: the Chairman of the Tema East Constituency writing to refute an accusation that he had been arrested; a complaint about charges made for senior school certificates (one of a small number which illicit a response from the relevant authority – in this case a letter from the West African Examinations Council stating that charging was not authorised); a plea to increase the size of the 1 pesewa coin; another plea to community members not to dig trenches in tarred roads as makeshift traffic control measures; a request to reinstate railways as a means of transporting cocoa; a reminder to thank God for continued peace during and after the elections and a letter suggesting it was inappropriate to suggest that God chose the new president as, in the author’s view, both main parties had rigged polls and that, therefore, God would not be associated with such malpractice.
A letter in the paper on the 4th August last year particularly caught my eye. Godwin Yirenkyi was expressing concern about the dangerous traffic on the Mamfe-Koforidua road (a view I can fully support) but he went on to comment on the condition of the Mmetiamu Bridge. I have not been able to find out more about this bridge from other sources, so must rely upon the accuracy of his text:
“Near the Asuoyaa Bridge and close to the former Accra-Kumasi railway line is another unique bridge built over the Densu River in 1911 by the Swiss missionary and civil engineer, Jacob Isliker, on behalf of the enterprising pioneer cocoa farmers who migrated from the Akuapem Mountains to establish the early cocoa farms around the river. Called the Mmetiamu footbridge and known locally as the “wharf”, it is one of the oldest bridges in the country and though it looks strong, the need for some maintenance cannot be ruled out. The tourism importance of this bridge would be appreciated when it is recalled that is probably the only one of its kind in Africa. Dr Polly Hill, formerly of the University of Ghana in her book, “Migrant Cocoa Farmers of Southern Ghana (1970)”, described it as “a splendid and historic landmark that should be preserved as a monument to the business enterprise of the first cocoa farmers due to its uniqueness in Africa”.”
It took seven months before I finally got round to seeing the Mmetiamu Bridge for myself. The first weekend in February, Dan and I cycled four miles down the Mamfe road through Mile 50 and Okorase to Old Asuoyaa. A further mile along an unsealed road brought us to New Asuoyaa, a small farming community. We locked our bikes around a convenient electricity pole and asked a group of farmers sitting in a shady spot for directions to the bridge. One of them, in his green wellingtons (sensible protection against snake bites) immediately stood up and said, ‘lets go’. He led us a few hundred yards round the village to a very precarious railway bridge over the river. I knew this wasn’t the bridge we wanted and asked tentatively for the ‘wharf’. Comprehension dawned and we set off again along the railway line. At Asuoyaa’s long redundant station we met a couple of men moulding mud building blocks. We walked a good mile along the single track, through a cutting and out on to an embankment, before dropping down to the Densu River. The final approach was through elderly cocoa trees.
The Mmetiamu Bridge does not disappoint. Constructed from a framework of solid wooden beams and topped with a buttressed roof of corrugated iron, it looks a very substantial structure. Closer inspection shows that many of the elements have been seriously compromised by woodworm. A few of the floor boards have been replaced but there is no evidence of any more serious maintenance. Just short of its centenary, there seems little chance of the bridge surviving far into its second century.
The bridge occupies a very peaceful spot. The Densu is narrow here and barely moves at this time of year. The banks are densely overgrown, but there was another farmer nearby tending a neatly cleared plot of cabbages. He said that his great grandfather had led the local construction team for Isliker. He was adamant that the bridge was constructed in 1808, but this would give him some exceptionally robust ancestors and mean that it predated the arrival of cocoa in Ghana by some seventy years.
We returned to New Asuoyaa with our guide. He asked nothing for the hour plus he had spent with us, but we insisted on giving him a ‘dash’ for his trouble.
Godwin Yirenkyi’s letter ended with an appeal to the Ghana Cocoa Board and other stakeholders to preserve the Mmetiamu Bridge as a tourist attraction. The original route (probably to Suhum, west of Koforidua) used by the cocoa farmers has long been superseded by the road, so the bridge had little practical potential. It would be great shame to see it disintegrate further, but its fate looks sealed.
2 comments:
Dear Richard,
I enjoyed your blog on the Mmetiamu Bridge. My name is Giles Adu and my great grandfather Jakob Isliker constructed the bridge! I am currently conducting research into Isliker's life from the Basel Mission in Switzerland to when he came to Ghana circa 1880. I am hoping to produce a documentary and a historical novel eventually based on his life.
I would be grateful of any references that you may be able to suggestfor any additional information that I could follow up with.
Jakob Isliker built a house in Akwapong that is over 100 years old and still standing today and owned by my family. I also am hoping to raise funding for restoration of this important historical building.
I look forward to corresonding with you via email and can be contacted on giles.adu@brookstreetpartners.com
Kind Regards,
Giles Adu
My maternal great grandfather is the late Jakob Isliker who designed and lead the construction of the Mmetiamu Bridge.
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