Traders are back selling on the streets after decongestion exercise
Traders operating in Accra have defied official directives by returning to sell on the streets and pavements, following a five-day decongestion exercise carried out by the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) under the leadership of the Mayor Michael Kpakpo Allotey.
According to a report by 3news.com, the defiant traders appear to have reclaimed the streets, setting up their items for sale despite the recent decongestion efforts.
Areas around the AMA head office to the Ghana School of Law and the Makola Fire Station, which were previously cleared by the task force, have now been reoccupied by traders, with no visible presence of AMA task force officers to enforce the directive.
According to the report, this situation has led to renewed congestion and traffic for both vehicles and pedestrians attempting to navigate the affected streets.
Similar scenes were observed at other commercial hotspots, including Tudu, Kimbu, Kaneshie, and Nkrumah Circle, where traders appeared to have resumed their activities without any restrictions.
The decongestion exercise, which the mayor assured would not be a short-lived initiative, initially received widespread public approval for its efforts.
Although traders appeared to comply with the directives at the beginning of the exercise despite some resistance, they now seem to have returned to selling on the streets.
The exercise which kickstarted on May 20, 2025, was aimed at clearing unauthorised trading activities on pavements and streets across major parts of the Central Business District.
MAG/MA
After the heavy rains over the weekend, a lot of debris have been left across many parts of Accra. Watch some of the destructions below: