The Greater Accra Markets Association has thrown its weight behind the Accra Metropolitan Assembly’s (AMA) ongoing decongestion exercise.
Speaking to ABC News GH, the association’s president, Mercy Afrowa Needjan, commended the initiative, stating, “The decongestion exercise is for the right course.”
She further urged traders currently operating on pavements and roadsides to relocate into the main market spaces provided for commerce.
Needjan emphasized that selling on the streets creates an uneven playing field and undermines those abiding by the rules.
“Those in the markets are also mothers taking care of their kids, husbands and families,” she noted, arguing that street vending, which is illegal, unfairly rewards non-compliance with higher earnings.
She called on all traders to support the move and respect the by-laws aimed at creating order and fairness within Accra’s markets.
Her endorsement follows the decongestion exercise led by Accra Mayor Michael Allotey.
He has disclosed that seized goods from the decongestion exercise will no longer be auctioned but donated to the Ghana Prisons Service. The Mayor described the effort as a sustained campaign and not a one-off event.
“This exercise is not a nine-day wonder; we will be on the streets until we ensure that the roads are clear,” he stated, reinforcing his commitment to restoring order and improving urban mobility across the capital.
