The hawkers are back!

Hawkers in the Central Business District in Accra have gradually made their way back onto the pavements after they were driven off by the Accra Metropolitan Assembly?s decongestion exercise nearly six months ago.

The number of guards deployed to keep the hawkers away in the heat of the exercise has also dwindled significantly, rendering the few on duty ineffective.

When JOY News team visited the central business district on Wednesday there is outmost disregard for the once famous ban on street hawking in Accra central.

Hawkers were seen openly advertising their wares on pavements in the Central Business district of Accra.

Barely a month ago, the streets of the capital and pavements were devoid of such noises, but the much-hailed decongestion is now in danger.

The hawkers says after six months of waiting in vain for the AMA?s promised markets, the have no option but to return to what they best know.

? We don?t know of any such project being done for us but we are pleading that they should just provide it for us as soon as possible so that we can go about our business in peace, we are not here by choice, we know it is even dangerous,? another hawker said.

Although some hawkers concede that their actions contravene byelaws of the AMA they told JOY News they had nowhere else to go.

As the team drove through the Kinbu area all the way to UTC, it became obvious that the decongestion exercise had suffered a major setback.

The hawkers say they will leave the streets once the AMA?s promise relocate them in a new market is fulfilled.

? We don?t have any place to go, this is our place and we want to stay. They always arrest us and take us to WAJU, we sleep there and the next day they take us to court, they fine is ?1.2 million and my family pays for me,? one hawker said.

One striking observations made by the Joy News team was the insignificant number of AMA task force personnel on the streets enforcing the ban.

It was therefore not surprising that the few present turned a blind eye or better still failed to stop to the illegal activities.

The AMA and the Local Government Ministry have set themselves the end of September to complete work on the market.

But if what Joy News saw on Wednesday was anything to go by then the city authorities will have to start the decongestions exercise all over again when the market is ready.