The personnel, comprising officers from the police, military, the Ghana National Fire Service, the Prisons and the Immigration Service are expected to augment the efforts of the group that is already overseeing the exercise.

The officers are expected to evict all petty traders and drivers from unauthorised places to the Racecourse terminal and other satellite markets within the metropolis.

The exercise, according to the Assembly, is aimed at decongesting the Central Business District and at paving the way for the completion of the redevelopment of the Kejetia bus terminal.

Public Relations Officer (PRO) for the KMA, Godwin Okumah Nyame told Citi News that the Assembly will be tough on recalcitrant traders and drivers.

“What informed this exercise was the observations have been made by the Ashanti Regional Security Council as far as the ongoing relocation exercise is concerned. So the Council, at its meeting last week, decided to help the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly by beefing up the number of personnel to enable us to intensify the relocation exercise so that those traders who still sell on the streets and pavements will move to Racecourse and other designated satellite markets that they are supposed to move to,” he said.

Mr. Okumah Nyame also added that the transport unions are also supposed to relocate.

“We were using persuasion but now we want to use some kind of minimal force,” he added.

Some residents who spoke to Citi News want the exercise sustained.

“The decongestion exercise is better because it makes movement very easy for us. We want them to continue although people are complaining,” one resident said

“It is a good exercise because it makes the place look nice. I think that by the time they will finish with the construction Kumasi will be a very pleasant place to visit,” another resident added.

Don’t pay for allocation of shops at new Kejetia market

KMA had earlier stated that it was not collecting money from traders to secure spaces for them after the Kejetia redevelopment project is completed.

The Assembly in a statement said it would deal ruthlessly with persons caught extorting monies from traders.

“The Assembly wishes to make it clear to the public that no person, group of persons or organization, has been authorized to collect money on behalf of the KMA for the purposes of allocating stores to traders at Kejetia. The assembly will soon commence the validation of all traders and shop owners who were registered at the Kejetia Lorry Terminal, prior to the commencement of the ongoing redevelopment project.”

“Any trader, organization or group of persons who will be found involved in the alleged extortion of money from traders will be ruthlessly dealt with by the law,” the KMA said.

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By: Hafiz Tijani/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Security beefed up Kumasi over relocation of traders appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

The traders have also threatened to demonstrate against the Assembly, and attributed their low sales to the Assembly’s failure to relocate the transport operators to the terminal.

Most of the petty traders who used to sell on pavements, have been relocated to the new site.

The traders, who mostly rely on the transport operators to sell their wares say the commercial activities have slowed down since the relocation, because the Assembly failed to relocate the drivers to join them at the Racecourse terminal.

[contextly_sidebar id=”1Vvt955bExCnPiqfK7kmzUZ9XuXyGSal”]Chairman of the Kejetia Petty Traders Association, Nana Akwasi Prempeh, addressing a news conference in Kumasi, said members of the Association are unhappy with the “lackadaisical attitude”  exhibited by the KMA in the relocation exercise.

“We cannot stay here while other traders are by the roadside selling. We are all traders and it is our interest to also get something from our daily bread. Our interest especially is the transport operators because we know that if they are operating here, effectively the passengers they bring in will buy our wares. The KMA should ensure that they relocate all the transport operators to this place”.

The traders gave the Assembly an ultimatum to relocate the transport operators to the Race Course terminal or face their wrath.

According to Nana Prempeh, members of the Associations will resist attempts by the KMA to frustrate their businesses.

“What we are seeing at Race Course here is nothing to write home about. We are sending this warning to the Mayor that by the 30^th of this month if we don’t see all the transport operators being relocated to Race Course, we the traders are going back on the streets. And we are going to embark on a demonstration dubbed ‘taking over’, we will take over all the streets of Kumasi,” he threatened.

The Assembly recently relocated traders to Racecourse temporarily to pave way for the completion of the Kejetia Redevelopment Project.

The exercise also aims at decongesting the Central Business District.

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By: Hafiz Tijani/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Kumasi: Petty traders threaten demo against KMA appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.