By Patrick Ofoe Nudzi
Accra, May 22, GNA – Mr. Michael Kpakpo Allotey, Chief Executive Officer of the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA), has begun demarcating pavements for traders as part of the ongoing decongestion exercise.
The exercise, on its second day, started from the Aayalolo bus terminal through to the ECG Accra East Regional Office and the Ghana School of Law.
Traders have begun rearranging their goods within the newly marked inner perimeter.
Mr Allotey said the AMA had introduced the temporary measure to maintain order and ensure pedestrian safety, while enabling traders to continue earning a livelihood.
“I am going to get a big place for them. Within a month or two, I will get a place for them. For now, the lines are temporary to keep the traders from the street.
“I will be back to the markets and pavements again. After two weeks, I am going to continue this exercise and make sure that Accra is clean before I stop. So, I am not stopping now,” he said.
Creating inner perimeters on pavements has been attempted in past years but has seen limited compliance from traders.
Maame Azumah Abdulai, a tomato trader, welcomed the initiative, stating: “We are all calling for a clean, safe and decent market and so the onus lies on us to contribute our quota to achieve his dream.”
“Some of our colleagues are stubborn, anytime we advise them not to sell in the road they don’t listen and so the law must deal with them,” she said.
Mrs. Bernice Abankwah, a shopper, described the exercise as impressive, noting that it had made walking much easier than before, when navigating the area often led to confrontations with traders.
However, she expressed some discomfort with the pavement demarcation.
“The mayor’s directives are favourable. I am an old lady and do not have the strength to be running from the taskforce,” Maame Rose Agyekumwaa, who sells mangoes, said.
“So, I am selling within the demarcation given to me. His approach is not aggressive and I thank him,” she added.
A taskforce of city guards has been deployed to enforce the demarcations and ensure compliance daily.
GNA
Edited by Kenneth Sackey