Kumasi, April 25, GNA - The second phase of the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA) decongestion exercise takes off on Monday, April 30, Madam Patricia Appiagyei, the Metropolitan Chief Executive (MCE) has announced.

The targeted areas, she said, included Morocco, Alabar, Labour Roundabout, Ayigya, KNUST Junction, Ring Road, Kaase, KBL Area, slum areas such as Sodom and Gomora, Anloga, Eastern Rail line, New Tafo, Dichemso, Asafo, Bantama and Abrepo Junction. Madam Apppiagyei, who announced this at a press briefing in Kumasi on Wednesday, said the two-month exercise would cost the Assembly 660 million cedis.

She said the first phase which ended in April 11 and covered the central business district of the metropolis including Adum, Guggisberg road, the Unicorn House to the PZ building, the Fuller Road in front of the Central market, Railway station, the Roman Hill and the Antoa road cost the KMA about 462 million cedis.

She indicated that 95 hawkers were arrested during the exercise and prosecuted with fines ranging from 500,000 cedis to two million cedis, adding that a monitoring team was set up to monitor areas already decongested, including Morocco Shoe area, in front of the Hello FM station, SAT area, Barclays Bank and in front of the Central market. The MCE pointed out that to ease the problems of traders, the Assembly has decided to create some specialized markets in some of the satellite markets and in this direction, the New Tafo market would be used for shoe traders, Patasi market for vegetables and Kwadaso Estate market for foodstuffs.

Madam Appiagyei said the main objective of the decongestion exercise was not only to get hawkers and other traders from doing business on pavements and pedestrians walkways but also it was to ensure the general beautification of the entire metropolis and also to address the wrongful positioning of kiosks and container stores.

He stressed that to achieve the overall objective of the exercise, a comprehensive educational programme was to be embarked upon throughout the metropolis and this would include radio talk shows, printing of flyers on the negative and positive aspects of the exercise, the use of the Assembly's public address system and many other means of communication facilities.

The MCE called on shop owners to desist from displaying their wares on or close to pavements and walkways and also allowing hawkers to do business in front of their shops or stores. "Shop owners are therefore warned that failure to abide by these directive would result in prosecution of the owner together with the arrested hawkers", she said. 26 April 07