When was the last time you did Accra to Kumasi by road or rail? And how long did it take you to complete that journey? This was a journey that was done in 4 hours a number of years ago by road. Not anymore. Depending on who you speak to these days, you are likely to hear 6, 7 or possibly 8 hours if you have to navigate your way past traffic on multiple stretches.
Now this is a distance of only 250km. For a stretch that links two of the country’s biggest cities, this is poor and completely unacceptable. The loss of time, business opportunities and the health hazards of being on that road is well documented but how about a completely new experience in another part of the continent? Concise, fun and world Class.
The Journey begins from Casablanca where I am based to go see the game between Senegal and DR Congo In Tangiers, the biggest city in the Northern Parts of Morocco. I checked the distance. 338km. The Ghanaian in me goes berserk.
That’s probably going to take something in the region of about 7-8 hours I guess. I am looking at the options available courtesy my hosts. “Kwame, you can do by the road or by train, It’s quite quick, my host remarked.” He goes ahead to give a detailed plan of how I would navigate my way by road, by air, by rail and by water if I was interested in that adventure on the sea.
I remembered an experience between Istanbul and Bursa on the open seas 12 years ago and I thought that would be fun as well but this was a longer route and that option was going to get me late to Tangier.
I opted to go by rail because of the time to sort out the others. I hopped on a local taxi and off to Casa Voyageurs, the rail hub that connects with the other Moroccan Cities. I have to say that I was really impressed by what I saw.
The professionalism of the staff and the quality of the roads that led to the hub. First Class. Its pretty much first class all through the city. Was nice to move away from the potholes and the craters. No dig at anyone. Then I was hit with another pleasant surprise.
For a distance of 338km, we were going to be doing this trip in 2hours and 15 minutes. I was gob smacked. Not on this continent. Normal in Europe or North America but not in our parts. I later found out that the Moroccan authorities had invested in excess of over $2.4b in the project spanning 7 years. Now that is what you call longsightedness.
The journey itself was absolutely fun. We navigated through the many plains and the undulating nature of many landscapes in the country side. It was natural beauty. These are parts of the world that is known for their deserts but I saw very little of that.
The services on the train were great. Professional staff who attended to the needs of passengers and an in-house cafeteria as well. We touched down in exactly 2 hours and 15 minutes like was advertised for 270 Dirhams ($30). Helps with planning.
After enjoying the game, it was now time to make my way back. The crowds had swarmed every area of the precincts of the Stade Ibn Batouta.
I had to find my way to the train station. There was a challenge. All taxis had been either chattered or were heading elsewhere because of traffic. The bus that took us to the stadium from the station were either stuck or were full of passengers. I decided to make part of the journey by walking to make the time. After about 18minutes, I heard a Senegalese fan spoke in clear English behind me. I approached him and spoke to him about my challenge in getting to the train station.
He lived in Tangier but decided to help me out but to no avail. Then out of nowhere, this young Senegalese man in a Mercedes popped up. He was a native of Casablanca who had come to do business in Tangier and was making his way back to Casablanca.
After some conversations in Wolof with the fan I met, he gladly obliged to take me along for a fee of 300 Dirhams ($33). Was a huge risk. Just the two of us. Didn’t know this lad from Adam but boys would always be boys. We move.
338km. How long were we going to be on the road I asked myself. Then it started raining which only compounded my worries. Good thing is this young man spoke very good English so we vibed right away. I had seen a fair bit of the Moroccan highways on YouTube but this was me going to experience it in person.
The journey started well with street lights dotted on the sides of the main highway and I honestly thought it was going to be same all through to Casablanca. No. There were stretches of complete darkness which scared me a bit. It got you asking all the what if questions but ride on we did.
The undulating nature of the roads at some point. The rains, the top speed of some other cars. Oh mine. We navigated all that. In 2 hours and 47 minutes, we were in Casa as the locals called it. 2 hours and 47 minutes for a 338km journey? How did we do that? The Ghanaian in me sprung to life again. The truth though is that the road was absolutely first class.4 lanes which expanded to 6 and 8 at some points. Carefully planned and wonderfully built. No unnecessary Police barriers beyond 3 toll booths I counted.
The Moroccans are clearly investing in multiple sectors of their country. Access to quality transport is a big deal in any serious country. They surely do not make a fuss of it like we do in our parts. They just get the job done with the King leading the way. Air Maroc, their national airline carrier has about 50 aircrafts of multiple sizes and intend to expand to a fleet of about 200 in the next decade.
They clearly intend to dominate not only in the skies but on land as well. I am yet to experience the water transport. I am sure it would be world Class as well.
Someday, the authorities in my country would have the foresight for such long-term development goals rather than celebrating the construction of a KVIP and inviting all those who matter in the community to cut a sword for its construction.
The Moroccans are transforming their country through exports which are led by automotive parts, fertilizers (phosphates), electrical components, and agricultural goods like citrus and vegetables, with the EU (Spain, France) as the primary market, driven by key sectors like automotives, aviation, agriculture, and phosphates, showing strong growth towards global markets. Key exports also include textiles, aircraft parts, and traditional crafts like Argan oil, with a significant shift towards higher value-added products.
My country Ghana has gold, diamond, oil, lithium and more but this is where we are after 68 years of Independence. A corrupt political class over the years with thoughts to only create, loot and share the nations wealth.
Someday, I will hop on a train to Kumasi in an hour and to Tamale in 3 hours. It is possible. I am not dreaming.
By-Kwame Dwomoh-Agyemang
