New AMA sanitation court secures first conviction against food vendor

The newly commissioned Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) District Sanitation Court has recorded its first conviction.

Juliet Mettle, a food vendor, was convicted during the court’s maiden sitting on Tuesday after pleading guilty to two offences: cooking for public consumption without medically screening her staff, and preparing food in an unsanitary and exposed public space.

She was fined 60 penalty units, equivalent to GH¢360. The fines are to run concurrently, with a default sentence of three months’ imprisonment with hard labour if unpaid.

The Sanitation Court was established to fast-track the prosecution of sanitation-related offences and to support the Assembly’s wider initiative to improve environmental health and safeguard the well-being of Accra residents.

Authorities have indicated that intensified enforcement actions will continue as part of a city-wide cleanliness campaign.