The Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA) is to intensify its decongestion and relocation exercise after the celebration of the 61st Independence Day on March 6, 2018, after a short break, to make sure traders and transport operators comply with the Assembly’s directives to relocate to designate locations.

The break was necessitated by the withdrawal of the military, the police and the KMA taskforce personnel for rehearsal towards the Independence Day, which includes activities like match pass.

The exercise is part of an intervention to ensure free vehicular and human movement in the Metropolis and also aimed at allowing the Brazilian contractors working on the Kejetia Bus Terminal project to get access and fix the adjoining roads to Kejetia, which are currently being occupied illegally by hawkers.

The Mayor of Kumasi, Hon. Osei Assibey Antwi, appearing before the Kumasi Traditional Council (KTC) at the Manhyia Palace in Kumasi on Monday March 5, 2018, said the Assembly in collaboration with the Ashanti Regional Security Council (REGSEC), will beef up the security during the exercise to make sure traders and transport operators comply with the KMA directives to Assembly to ply their trade at the Race Course, Afia Kobi (Abinkyi) market or any of the available satellite markets.

“After the 6th March celebration, we are going to use a reasonable force by the police, the military and the KMA taskforce to make sure they all relocate to their designated locations. We now know that they are doing this with impunity and we cannot end what we have started without achieving our objectives,” the Mayor said.

He said in spite of arrest and prosecution of offenders, some traders and transport operators are still plying their businesses at the unapproved locations, hence the need to use reasonable force to get them to Race Course and other approved areas.

“So far on the average we arrest and prosecute 200 drivers every week for defying the directives, some traders too have been arrested and prosecuted. This shows that the Assembly is serious and will not back down. Now that persuasion has failed, reasonable force must be applied. We therefore need your (Council) support to make the exercise a success,” he pleaded with the Council.