Traders appeal to AMA to deepen dialogue on demolition exercise
The United Traders Forum (UTF), a national association of petty traders, has appealed to the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) to deepen dialogue with the leadership of micro traders to develop a road map for its intended demolition exercise.
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According to the group, such a dialogue would help prevent any violent confrontations between the city authority and the traders in an event that the former carried out its plans to remove unauthorised structures.
At a press conference held in Accra yesterday, the General Secretary of UTF, Mr Frederick Opoku, said the brutalities that were meted out to some hawkers in previous exercises ought to be avoided, adding that due diligence was required to safeguard valuables during the exercise.
AMA directive
The AMA, in a press release last Monday, directed the removal of all unauthorised structures in the city with immediate effect.
The release which was signed by the Head of Public Affairs of the city authority, Numo Blafo, asked occupants of illegal structures, especially on government reserved lands in areas along the Odaw River, Korle Lagoon, Old Fadama, the East Legon Green Belt, Mensah Guinea, among others, to leave immediately.
The directive also asked hawkers who had turned the underpass of foot and overhead bridges into trading points to stop their activities with immediate effect.
“All those who are selling on pavements and roads in the metropolis are being reminded that their activities are contrary to AMA Street Hawking by-laws 2011.
“Those hawking in the middle of the road are also breaking the above-mentioned by-laws, as well as the Road Traffic (Amendment) Act, 2008 (Act 761, section 29 (2),” the statement added.
Collaboration
Mr Opoku, however, observed that while the petty traders found the move by the AMA to decongest the city commendable, it was important for the process to be carried out with a human face, since in previous exercises by the AMA for a similar purpose, some of the hawkers were maltreated by the task force, with some even losing their ears in the process.
While congratulating Mr Mohammed Adjei Sowah on his appointment as the Chief Executive Officer of the AMA, the UTF underscored the need for him and his colleagues to design models that would promote petty trading at their respective areas.