Accra, Dec. 7, GNA - The Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) on Monday began an exercise dubbed "Operation No Hawking" to sensitize hawkers at the central business district of Accra to vacate the streets.

Apart from its staff, the AMA has also included all its assembly members numbering about 90 to help in the exercise since the hawkers know them well and may listen to them because they (hawkers) voted them into the assembly.

Mr Ben Armah, Deputy Director of Administration of the AMA, who led the team, told the Ghana News Agency that the exercise would continue until the hawkers completely deserted the streets.

He said to prevent street hawking in the capital the AMA had built several markets and allocated stalls to sellers to stay in ply their trade in a convenient atmosphere.

Mr Armah said despite this, some recalcitrant traders had refused to= go to the new markets and continued to remain on the streets causing vehicular traffic and congestion at the central business district. He blamed the public for encouraging the practice by buying from hawkers on the street instead of going to the market. Some of the hawkers who spoke to the GNA said business at the market= s was not encouraging because buyers did not come to the markets but prefer= red to buy from hawkers on the streets.