The Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) has arrested twenty-one traders for displaying and selling their wares on open drains at the Agbogbloshie Market, in violation of the city’s sanitation and public health regulations.
The operation, which took place on Tuesday, was led by Public Health Officers from the Assembly as part of ongoing efforts to sustain cleanliness in the Agbogbloshie enclave following the National Sanitation Day exercise held a fortnight ago and the reintroduction of the Clean Ghana Campaign Train — a sustained citywide initiative to enforce hygiene and environmental health standards.
Prior to the enforcement exercise, the Mayor of Accra, Hon. Michael Kpakpo Allotey, had visited the market and announced a two-week intensive clean-up and desilting operation to restore hygiene and free the drains ahead of stricter enforcement.
Speaking after the exercise, the Metro Director of Public Health, Madam Florence Kuukyi, described Agbogbloshie Market as one of the largest and most critical food supply centres in Accra, noting that nearly 80 percent of food vendors and handlers across the city source their goods from the market.
She expressed concern that some traders had taken advantage of the market’s importance to engage in practices contrary to public health and sanitation regulations, adding that the Assembly’s bye-laws strictly prohibit trading on streets and along drains.
“What we continue to observe is worrying. People have abandoned their stalls and locked their shops, only to display goods along the streets. This behaviour causes traffic congestion, creates unsanitary conditions, and exposes food items to contamination,” she said.