The much talked about decongestion exercise in Koforidua commenced today March 9, 2022.
The exercise kicked off at 6:00 am by a joint team of Police, Fire Service, and city guards.
The security personnel have been deployed in all vantage areas to keep enforcing the bye-laws.
The exercise targets hawkers on pavements, illegal structures, drivers and riders who operate in unauthorized Places.
Street preachers and other noise polluters on the streets are also being cleared off the walkways and have been directed to operate from dawn to 9:00 am.
The New Juaben Municipal Assembly has recruited 20 additional city guards for the exercise.
The decongestion exercise initiated by the Eastern Regional Minister Seth Kwame Acheampong will be replicated subsequently in all major towns in the region.
However, some affected hawkers appealed to the assembly to be merciful since there is hardship in the country.
Addressing the media, the MCE for New Juaben South, Isaac Appaw Gyasi, said the decongestion exercise is the mother of all decongestion exercises in Ghana due to the strategy put in place to sustain its enforcement.
The first phase of the exercise will last two weeks which will be immediately followed by the other phases of the exercise which includes the establishment of sanitation courts to impose fines on recalcitrants.
According to the MCE, the assembly is reconsidering the introduction of the night market as well as street market intervention for the persons affected to sell.
Meanwhile, the assembly has designated the Zongo Market, Argartha, Juaben Serwaa and beads markets to receive the affected hawkers.
The Eastern Regional Minister Seth Kwame Acheampong had said in earlier engagement with stakeholders on that intensive public education and engagements have been done and the various groups have signed undertakings in support of the exercise.
The member of Parliament for New Juaben South, Michael Okyere Baafi said residents are understanding the essence of the exercise.
Source: Mybrytfmonline.com/Obed Ansah
