Kumasi commercial drivers worried over minor hawkers

Commercial drivers in the Ashanti Regional capital Kumasi have called for action from the local authorities; the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA) against the increasing number of street children hawking within the metropolis.

Minors who should have been in school are always spotted busily selling on the road side putting their lives in danger and that of the drivers who sometimes have to apply emergency brakes to save them from being knocked down by their vehicles.

Speaking to mynewsgh.com on the occasion of this year’s Workers’ Day Celebration, Mr. Kwame Boamah chairman of Sofoline branch the GPRTU called for immediate action to rid these children from the streets before calamity befalls them.

He pointed accusing fingers at the Social Welfare Department for looking on unconcerned as children of school going age are forced to sell under scorching sun breaking traffic rules and regulations.

Some residents shared the concerns of the drivers calling on the Domestic Violence and Victim Support Unit (DOVVSU) of the Ghana Police Service to help curb this trend.

“It is unfair and against these children’s fundamental human rights to sell to fend themselves or family for any reason. Parents should work to fend for them and not the opposite”

Adult traders who encounter these minors daily also believe it is time authorities of KMA and DOVVSU work together to arrest and prosecute parents of minors selling in the metropolis.