Comprehensive package for business centre - Mayor Vanderpuije

Accra, June 15, GNA - Government would soon come out with a comprehens ive package to address the numerous problems facing the Abbosey-Okai business

centre in Accra. Accra Mayor, Alfred Oko Vanderpuje, made this known when he addressed executive members of the Abossey Okai Spare Parts Dealers Association aft er touring the area on Monday.

The Mayor's visit to the area was a follow-up to a similar one by President Atta Mills a week ago.

Dr Vanderpuije said the package would, among other things, tackle sanitation, drainage and roads and make the development of the area fit i nto the millennium city project and the 'Better Ghana' agenda. He said his technical team would meet and then come up with a package to be announced soon and noted that government would give the project all th e seriousness it deserved.

On roads, the mayor noted that the square footage of the area stretchi ng from the mortuary road through Kaneshie and the adjourning roads would be

constructed to give the business area a facelift. He bemoaned the poor sanitary practices and the tons of refuse they generated which made clearing and collection very difficult, thus making the environment there unsafe when the rains set in. He urged the executives to consider bringing back the monthly cleanup

exercise that was held years back and noted that Accra Metropolitan Assem bly (AMA) had from June 1, introduced a fee and performance-based solid waste

service to bring sanity into the collection and management of the city's solid waste.

Under the system residents are to register, own bins and pay AMA appro ved fees to the waste management companies that have been assigned to the various communities and urged shop owners to come together and own bins f or the refuse they generate. Residents in high density but low income areas would pay a monthly fee of GH=F8 3.30; middle income areas would pay GH=F89.00 and GH=F814.00 for fi rst class areas.

The Accra Mayor who was appalled by the sanitary conditions in the area, said a 20-seater place of convenience would be built for the area, while a new place would be acquired to build an additional one. In addition, an ultra modern car park would also be built near the business centre once a convenient space was found so that commuters to th e area would have a decent parking place.

The executives were also asked to organise their members and ensure t hat shop owners stay within the confinement of their shops and not to move th eir wares into pavements meant for pedestrians. The Mayor called on them to give their utmost support to an exercise planned by the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) and the AMA, aimed at desilting drains, and added "Let's make the business centre

the best environment for business activities". The Chairman of the Association, Mr Joseph Paddy, expressed appreciatio n for government's commitment to make the business centre a modern one and pledged their support to make the project a success. Dr. Vanderpuje also inspected the former Novotel market which is expec ted to house the AMA Office complex and said that work was expected to be completed in two years though he declined to further comment on the proje ct, saying that at the appropriate time details about it would be announce to

the public.