AMA, MiDA Clear hawkers & encroachers off streets

Taskforce of the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) joined their counterparts from the Millennium Development Authority (MiDA) in the early hours of Wednesday to demolish structures and clear traders and encroachers at Abeka Lapaz in Accra.

The exercise, which lasted for close to three (3) hours, sought to remove all illegal structures were hindering the smooth construction of the Tetteh Quarshie-Mallam Road.

The move was also aimed at getting traders, hawkers and encroachers off the roads whose activities posed threats to the smooth construction of the road which was being financed by MiDA.

What baffled authorities of the two organisations, the paper found out, was an entrenched position taken by the traders not to vacate their trading places after having received fair and equitable compensations to that effect.

That position by the traders, Today gathered, kept stalling the road construction project, and thus compelled the decision by authorities to close in on the traders.

The traders and encroachers stood helplessly and became dumbfounded as they watched their makeshift structures and tables being destroyed.

Victims of the demolition and decongestion exercise in an interview with Today expressed mixed feelings and reactions.

While others argued that it was a good exercise that will go a long way to help develop the country, others saw the move as an attempt by the NDC-Mills government to deprive them of their livelihood.

“The authorities claimed that they have compensated us, but to be very honest, that compensation was a peanut and we are better off selling. I just don’t know what these authorities want from us. We only sell around the roads and not in the main streets where construction works are ongoing. It is not fair at all,” one of the concerned traders pointed out.

“When you go to other countries we admire their road networks and their development agenda but when the AMA takes any action that would bring development to Ghana, we tend to criticize and politicize it and we are the same people crying for development,” Mr. Richard Ansah, a mobile phone dealer indicated.

“My brother, this exercise is very good because we want development as far as road construction is concerned. We need to improve upon our road networks for the better and that is exactly what our government is trying to do. I just cannot comprehend why some Ghanaians have problems with that,” Nana Ama Opare, another trader lamented.

“We understand that we need to leave the roads clear for construction works to progress but we think that it would have been fair if AMA and MiDA had given us some more time to move our belongings,” Charles Ofori, a roadside mechanic told Today.