The La Nkwantanang – Madina Municipal Assembly on Saturday evening removed the wares of traders from the pavements at the Madina – Zongo junction in Accra.
The exercise which started at 10pm on Saturday ended at 12 noon on Sunday was in collaboration with the Ghana Police Service (GPS) and the Sanitation Task Force of the assembly.
The action followed the refusal of the traders to relocate to the “Bohye Market” near the Redco flat and has rather resorted to the selling in the median of the road.
This has become a burden on the Assembly due to the volume of waste the traders generated every day and the stench it left in the areas after the clearing.
The officials of the assembly after realising that the “Operation Clean Your Frontage “ (OCYF) campaign could not be achieved if the traders were allowed to continue with their activities moved in to dislodge them, from the pavement.
According to the Municipal Coordinating Director, Ms, Abena KwesiwaKyei the roadside would not be allowed to be turned into a market so traders must therefore move to the market.
“The amount of resources used in clearing the waste generated by the traders could be channeled to other productive sectors as such the traders must move to the designated markets especially the empty stalls that they have vacated.”
Ms Kyei reiterated that, the President’s vision of making Accra the cleanest capital city and the GreaterAccra Ministers resolve to make the Accra Work Again would not be achieved if these traders were allowed to be on the pavement and therefore warned that the exercise would continue until the OCYF agenda was achieved.
The Municipal Environmental Health Officer,Mr Joseph Quacoe told the Ghanaian Times that, despite several sensitisation campaign and warnings for shops and commercial property owners to clean their frontage to the middle of the road, they had ignored all such warnings and have continued to litter the area to the detriment to the effort of the Assembly.
Mr Quacoesaid the “Bohye” market was cleaned and prepared for them to move in hence if they refuse, they would have themselves to blame because the exercise had just began and would be fully implemented until results were achieved.
When the Ghanaian Times visited the place, it observed that officials from the assembly were demolishing structures erected at authorised places while some traders were clearing their goods.
Earlier some traders used the median as a place for urinal while others used the place as a dumping site for refuse.
Speaking to some traders they explained that the supposed market was not well constructed as the place got flooded when it rained.
They also called for the more establishment of shops to house their goods.
BY LAWRENCE VOMAFA-AKPALU AND ANITA ANKRAH
