I was not officially informed about decongestion exercise- Armah Ashietey

Accra, June 16, GNA- Mr. Nii Armah Ashietey, Greater Accra Regional Minister, has expressed his dissatisfaction about the inability of the Accra Metropolitan Assembly's (AMA) to inform him of the decision to rid the national capital of hawkers.

"I was not officially informed of this decision, I only heard of it after it had been launched," he said.

Speaking in an interview with the Ghana News Agency on Tuesday, Mr. Armah Ashietey expressed his support for the exercise, adding that such a venture by the AMA needed to be planned well with all stakeholders involved in the city's planning for its success and sustenance.

"Since such a venture involved a lot of money, it needed to be well planned so that it would not be 'a nine day wonder' and a waste of money," the Minister explained.

He noted that the AMA and the sub metropolitan assemblies operate under the Regional Co-ordinating Council, hence the need for the metropolitan authorities to seek the approval of the council before embarking on the exercise.

Mr. Ashietey said he was not given official notice about measures the Assembly had put in place to carry out the exercise since Mr. Alfred Vanderpuije, Metropolitan Chief Executive had travelled outside the country, after launching the programme two weeks ago. He called for the proper management of the 32 markets in Accra in order to entice sellers and buyers to patronise them and not the Central Business District only.

"It is impossible to expect all buyers in Accra to buy from one market," he added.

Mr. Ashietey also expressed his dissatisfaction about the huge publicity given to the exercise since it could have been done on the quiet in order to attract public notice as the decongestion efforts was progressing.

He said the exercise could start in areas where the AMA would receive less resistance, adding that the Hawkers Market at Odawna alone cannot contain all hawkers in Accra. The Minister also expressed his misgivings about the 250,000 Ghana cedis earmarked for the exercise, which he felt was too huge. 16 June 09