For travellers heading north out of Accra on the Kumasi road, Ofankor is one of the first places where the city starts to feel like the highway. Trucks, buses and trotros crowd the road, traders sell bread, fruit and water to passing vehicles, and new houses spread up the hills on either side. Ofankor is a commuter town whose growth has followed the road. For many residents, the highway is both their link to the city and the source of their daily traffic headaches.
Where Ofankor is and the barrier
Ofankor lies on the Accra-Kumasi road, north-west of Achimota and close to Pokuase. It sits at the edge of Greater Accra’s built-up area. Ofankor was long known for a barrier, a checkpoint on the highway where vehicles slowed down. The name became shorthand for the area among drivers. The nearby Pokuase interchange, built to ease traffic at a major junction, has changed travel patterns in the area.
As Accra expanded, Ofankor’s farmland was sold for housing. Families moved in seeking cheaper land and rent than in central Accra.
Markets, traffic and housing
Roadside traders sell food, fruit and household goods. Small markets serve residents and travellers. Trotros and buses connect Ofankor to Achimota, Circle and other parts of the city, as well as to towns further north. Heavy traffic on the highway affects residents’ journeys, especially in the morning and evening. Homes range from family houses built over many years to new estates and rental blocks.
Schools and churches have opened to serve the growing population. Pedestrians crossing the busy highway face risks, and residents have called for footbridges and safer crossings. Ofankor is close to Pokuase, Amasaman, Taifa and Achimota.
Business and food for travellers
Warehouses, workshops and small factories have appeared along the highway, attracted by easy access to trucks heading north. Road improvements and continued growth are expected to keep changing Ofankor. Hawkers at Ofankor sell bread, roasted plantain, groundnuts and drinks to passengers on buses heading north. For many travellers, it is the last chance to buy snacks before leaving the city.
Most people know Ofankor as a place they pass through on the way to Kumasi. Thousands of others pass through it twice a day on the way to and from their homes.