More than 20 stores in the Central Business District (CBD) were locked by the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) on Saturday for allegedly opening for business during the April cleanup effort in violation of the National Sanitation Day (NSD) mandate.
Hon. Michael Kpakpo Allotey, the mayor of Accra, who ordered the closure during an inspection tour of the exercise, chastised the store owners and traders for breaking the laws in spite of earlier public declarations and widespread involvement prior to the event.
Speaking to the media, the Mayor stated that the Assembly had originally planned to hold the clean-up on the Saturday before, but that it was rescheduled after market ladies begged that the exercise be moved forward by one week due to the Easter season.
In what he called a “demonstration of a listening administration,” he stated the Assembly granted the request and then issued a press release announcing the revised date via radio, television, and other public notice channels.
The Mayor insisted that neither the Regional Minister nor the Minister for Local Government, Chieftaincy, and Religious Affairs had told him of any agreement allowing traders to operate during the sanitation exercise, pointing out that he was unaware of any arrangement allowing shop owners to open their businesses.
He said that the NSD was a government-backed directive that needed to be followed and could not be overturned by private agreements or unapproved payments. He also said that the Assembly’s responsibility was to announce and enforce the exercise rather than engage in separate negotiations with private property managers about whether or not traders should follow the directive.
He said that anyone found to have opened their businesses in violation of the ban would be called in and taken to the sanitary court for potential prosecution.
He asserted that while the Assembly had been indulgent the year before, concentrating more on teaching and raising awareness, it had now moved into a phase of tough enforcement where criminals would be held accountable.
The Mayor cautioned that anyone urging vendors to start selling before the approved time was deceiving them, and that the Assembly would seize products and impose penalties on those who disobeyed.
He stated that a number of people had already been detained and will be brought to the sanitation court to pay fines. He added that while he did not like seeing elderly women and small-time merchants hauled before the court, the law had to be followed.
Stressing that Accra belonged to all inhabitants and that breaking sanitation regulations would eventually harm everyone, the Mayor urged traders to support the Assembly’s efforts by following orders meant to maintain the city clean.
Source: newsthemegh.com