Accra city authorities steadily dislodging Hawkers from payments

The Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) seems to be maintaining its grounds this time in the effort to evacuate hawkers operating along the streets of Accra, to promote cleanliness and easy pedestrian movement.

A visit by the Ghana News Agency to the Kwame Nkrumah Circle in Accra on Tuesday revealed that the pavements were virtually empty and officials of the AMA were seen in their numbers patrolling the place to ensure order.

Mr Been Tetteh, Supervisor from the AMA, noted that since the Assembly dispatched officials to the place to evacuate hawkers, it had become clean and accessible as people now had the freedom to move about easily since Friday.

He said the AMA would ensure that hawkers did not move back there, and anyone found there would be dealt with by the law.

“The pavements are meant for pedestrians and not for hawkers; we are pleading with them not to move back, they must find permanent places in the market to do their business and not on the pavements”.

Meanwhile, some traders the GNA talked to appealed to government to come to their aid and provide them with sheds in the markets to carry out their business.

Madam Vida Nyarko, a cosmetic seller said they (hawkers) were busy selling their items last Friday when the AMA taskforce including the Chief Executive Officer of AMA, Mr. Alfred Oko Vanderpuye, came to sack them and destroy their tables and umbrellas.

She said: “Where we are selling is not part of the pavement and we have been selling here for a long time, no government has ever sacked us from this place except the current one”.

Ms Nyarko indicated that they were all happy to see the streets clean, tidy and easy for pedestrian movement, but added that "Our problem now is how to engage in our trading, because we also have families to take care of, and this is our only source of livelihood."

Mr Kwame Nsiah, a mobile phone dealer also indicated that, the business they did was the only thing that kept them going and it was really painful to have all their property destroyed within the twinkle of an eye.

"Business was even not booming and yet these people have come to destroy our properties, we have no source of support from anybody so we rely on this small job to cater for our children and families”, he said.

Others, however, commended the city authorities for maintaining law and order.