Traders at Kwame Nkrumah Circle chase Operation Clean Your Frontage team away
The Operation Clean Your Frontage Campaign could barely kick start without some traders around the Kwame Nkrumah Circle Interchange resisting relocation and preventing the task force from discharging their duties.
They went as far as preventing moves by the Greater Accra Regional Minister, Henry Quartey, security personnel, and the Operation Clean Your Frontage task force to demolish their structures that are sited at unauthorized locations in the area.
Also, they pelted stones at the bulldozer being used for the exercise and ended up breaking its windscreen, in the process amidst gunshots.
The task force had no option but to immediately abort the exercise as they made their way to Kaneshie.
Meanwhile, the Kwame Nkrumah Interchange, where traders mount their wares, have been cleared and properly demarcated with wire mesh.
The said area is noted as one of the major commercial business hubs in Accra, dominated by informal sector workers involved in buying and selling different products, particularly electronics.
Authorities anticipated the opposition to the exercise, as many traders in the area ply their trade on pavements, with sanitation in the area being poor.
Ghanaians hope this exercise will not just be a nine-day wonder but will be sustained, noting from experience that, this is not the first time traders have been cleared from pavements around the Kwame Nkrumah Interchange.
It has also been observed over the years that, traders who ply their business on the pavement usually return to the site a few days after such exercises are done.
“We shall clear the streets of trading activities from 1st February, and I will not be deterred by the ‘I voted for you comment.’ I will personally supervise the exercise because the traders are obstinate. All the mobile phone traders at Circle should move from there because I will order the task force to clear all the structures and burn them to ashes because they are stubborn. The trotro drivers will also be cleared. We pray for life to do this on 1st February,” he said.
This idea of making the capital city Accra work again was nursed by the Greater Accra Regional Minister Henry Quartey and finally birthed by President Akufo-Addo in October 2021.
Assemblies in the region have already commenced work to ensure this rule is followed to the latter.
By: Stella Annan | myactiveonline.com Twitter @activetvgh
