The Mayor of Accra, Hon. Michael Kpakpo Allotey, has engaged street hawkers in parts of the Central Business District (CBD) ahead of a major decongestion exercise slated to begin on Tuesday, May 20. The Mayor, accompanied by the Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) for the Korle Klottey Municipal Assembly, walked through key areas in the metropolis to appeal for cooperation and explain new citywide trading reforms.
Mayor Allotey emphasized that the operation was necessary to clean Accra and make it a model capital for the sub-region. He assured hawkers that the exercise was not meant to destroy livelihoods but to reset the capital into a cleaner, more secure, and fairer trading environment. The Mayor announced several measures under the government’s 24-hour economy agenda, including the installation of solar-powered street lights and a new rotational trading system.
The Mayor also outlined a new ticketing policy to ease the financial burden on traders, cautioning that traders who evade ticket payments would be penalized. He urged hawkers to vacate the streets by Tuesday to allow sanitation and order to be restored, warning that any wares left on the streets after the deadline would be confiscated and donated to prisons or orphanages.
Mayor Allotey appealed for partnership with the traders, assuring them that his doors were always open and that he would work with market leaders to address concerns, including issues with other nationals taking over trading spots. He reiterated that the decongestion exercise was the beginning of something new and urged traders to help make Accra a place of pride.
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