Major Decongestion Exercise To Shake Accra From May 20: “Our Streets Are Not Marketplaces”

• The Accra Metropolitan Assembly will begin a decongestion exercise in the metropolis from Tuesday, May 20
• Accra Metropolitan Assembly boss Michael Kpakpo Allotey is targeting traders and unauthorised structures on pavements
• At a press conference on May 15, Allotey said the operation would be led by the Metropolitan Security Council

A major decongestion exercise will begin across Accra from May 20, with a focus on the Central Business District and other congested areas like the Kwame Nkrumah Circle area and Kaneshie.

The Chief Executive for the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA), Michael Kpakpo Allotey, aims to remove street traders and unauthorised structures from pavements.

At a press conference on May 15, Allotey said the operation would be led by the Metropolitan Security Council.

“Our streets are not marketplaces. Pavements are for walking, roads are for driving,” he said, insisting that the current situation poses risks to public safety and city functionality.

The exercise will begin in Okaishie, move through the Kwame Nkrumah Interchange area, and end in Kaneshie.

The assembly said it has consulted with market leaders, security agencies, and transport unions.

The Municipal Chief Executive of Korle Klottey, Alfred Ato Allotey-Gaisie, who joined the Mayor at the briefing, said the two assemblies were united in their resolve to clear the streets.

Allotey also announced plans to introduce a 24-hour city operation model.

Decongestion threats in Kumasi

Kumasi Mayor Richard Ofori-Agyemang Boadi controversially threatened to beat traders operating on pavements in the city as he also planned a decongestion of trade areas.

On April 14, he gave unauthorised traders a two-week ultimatum to vacate pavements within the central business district. This was not strictly adhered to.

Boadi, who took office on April 10, said his approach to managing the city would borrow aspects from military dictatorships.

“I have my own military-democratic style which I will be implementing. When we say leave the space, and you don’t leave the space and I get there, and you’re not there and my boys are with me, there and there we will beat you."

Boadi also wants to crack down on stray cattle in the metropolis. He warned that stray cattle would be seized and killed, and used to feed inmates at the Kumasi Central Prison starting from May 1, 2025.

He complained that cattle roaming freely was a bane of the city. The mayor also urged all herders to keep their animals out of the metropolis to avoid the severe consequences.

Drivers threaten to strike over congested roadsides

YEN.com.gh reported that commercial transport operators across the country plan to strike from May 19, 2025, in protest of traders operating on roads, pavements and bus stops.

Ghana Private Road Transport Union, the Concerned Drivers Association of Ghana, and the True Drivers Union are behind the strike threat.

The drivers are upset with the government’s failure to enforce provisions of the Road Traffic Regulations Act, 2012, which prohibits such incursions on roads and pavements by traders.

Proofreading by Samuel Gitonga, copy editor at YEN.com.gh.

Source: YEN.com.gh