Market women and traders occupying streets and pedestrian walkways in the Central Business District (CBD) of Accra have been given a one-week ultimatum to leave the streets and move into the markets or face eviction.
The mayor of Accra, Elizabeth Kwatsoe Tawiah Sackey, ordered the traders to vacate the streets on Wednesday, 4 May 2022, when she embarked on a citywide tour to inspect sanitation conditions as well as areas earmarked for decongestion exercises in the metropolis.
The mayor, who was accompanied by the Presiding Member of the AMA and a National Association of Local Authorities of Ghana (NALAG) presidential hopeful, Alfred Adjei, as well as Metro Coordinating Director Ahmed Rufai Ibrahim, and members of the task force, visited the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) section of the Independence Avenue through the Ghana School of Law to the Kojo Thompson Road in front of the Makola mall and finally to the Kinbu road.
She explained that the purpose of the exercise was to ensure a sustained sanitation drive within the areas and the free flow of vehicular and human traffic.
W
e have been lenient enough with you all, your grace period has come to an end, and we are hence giving you a week to move from the streets and pavements, else be ready to face the law… When we come after the stipulated period, anybody found culpable will be dealt with and brought to book,” she stated.
“When I met with the queen mothers of the markets, they told me the majority of you have spaces in the market but some of you have proven stubborn and have moved to the streets and pavements to sell all in the pursuit for customers which is not good,” she added.