Traders at the Central Business District (CBD) of Accra have defied the red line initiative which has been reintroduced by the Mayor of Accra, Michael Kpakpo Allotey, to peddle their business on pavements and unauthorised spots in the area.

The initiative which was originally implemented under former Mayor Alfred Oko Vanderpuije, according to AMA, has been reintroduced with stronger enforcement strategy and deeper collaboration with stakeholders, particularly market women.

However, in a video report shared on CITI FM’s X account on Monday,26, 2025, a trader reacting to the development explained why she has returned to the streets to sell.

According to her, trading on the streets is their main source of livelihood and hence is forced to return to do business.

“This place is our office. This is where we make a living. So, if you ask us to stay off the pavement without giving us alternative places to trade, we have no choice but to return to the pavements to trade.

“Even some of the AMA officials have their wives among us who are also engaged in trade here. So, it will be difficult to keep us off the pavements,” he said.

Watch video below

Traders in Kaneshie and parts of Accra’s CBD are back in unauthorized spaces—just days after a decongestion exercise. Some tell Citi News’ Fauzu Masawudu they have no alternative trading spots.

What’s the long-term solution?#CitiNewsroom pic.twitter.com/8iyajqpCgJ

— CITI FM 97.3 (@Citi973) May 24, 2025

The first phase of the decongestion exercise led by the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) in partnership with the Korle Klottey Municipal Assembly (KoKMA) began on Tuesday, May 20, 2025, in the Central Business District of Accra.

The exercise forms part of a broader initiative to reduce congestion, enforce city by-laws, and improve sanitation in the capital, initially targeted key areas around the AMA Head Office—specifically Kinbu Road to Railways, ECG Junction to the King Tackie Tawiah Statue, and Opera Square to Adabraka, identified as hotspots for street hawking and human and vehicular traffic.

However, in a viral video sighted by GhanaWeb on May 21, 2025, some traders were seen displaying their goods on the pavements in defiance of the directive.

Meanwhile, AMA has indicated that the second phase of the decongestion exercise will cover Wato Junction to King Tackie Tawiah, Cow Lane, Rawlings Park, Timber Market, and Kwame Nkrumah Circle.

VPO

Meanwhile, catch up on the concluding part of the story of Fort William, where children were sold in exchange for kitchenware, others, below: