Kumasi, March 17, GNA - The United Petty Traders Association Ghana (UPTAG) has accused the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA) of lack of adequate preparation to find evicted traders a convenient and permanent relocation before embarking on its decongestion exercise.

The association has subsequently called on the KMA to, as a matter of urgency, ensure that displaced traders are properly resettled. The traders also appealed to the KMA not to extend the exercise to non-pavement and non-street areas earmarked for trading activities in accordance with the assembly's policies and byelaws.

This was contained in a statement signed by Mr Daniel Awuah-Darko, national chairman of the association, Mr Boakye Ansah, public relations officer and Mr Edmund Opoku, secretary and issued in Kumasi on Wednesday.

The association expressed regret that the KMA paid deaf ears to several of its written appeals suggesting to them convenient places for their trading activities prior to the exercise.

"The KMA ignored all our suggestions and we only woke up one morning to find the demolition of temporary structures used by some of our members to display their wares."

The statement said the association could also not come to terms with the arrests and subsequent fines imposed on some of its members. It described this as illegal and not in consonance with KMA byelaws since the fines kept increasing everyday.

The statement called on the KMA to give the exercise a human face by involving the association in it.