The Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) and the Korle Klottey Municipal Assembly (KoKMA) have given roadside traders operating around the CMB Market in Accra up to January 31, 2026, to relocate behind designated demarcation lines and clear major roads of trading activities, warning that enforcement operations will begin in the early hours of February 1.
The directive followed an engagement with the Container Owners Association and the Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU) at the CMB Market on Monday, held at the request of traders to secure additional time to regularise their activities and support measures, including structured trader groupings, the appointment of designated leaders, and improved waste collection arrangements, such as the provision of rubbish containers.
Addressing the traders, Mayor of Accra, Hon. Michael Kpakpo Allotey, stressed that the success of Accra depended significantly on the role of women, urging market women and traders to unite with city authorities to make the capital clean, orderly and safe.
He appealed for cooperation to improve sanitation, ease pedestrian movement and restore vehicular access in the area after heightened street trading during the Christmas season.
He indicated that the government's priority was to prevent disease outbreaks and accidents while ensuring traders made profits to support their families.
He pointed out that street trading was often driven by economic hardship and the inability to afford shop space, adding that ongoing market and shop projects were being planned with affordability in mind, including options he said could be as low as GH¢500 for some spaces.
Hon. Allotey said authorities had initially considered moving traders by mid-month but extended the timeline after receiving feedback that many traders still had unsold goods from the festive season.
He said traders were being granted a full month, through the end of January, to complete sales and prepare to move off the streets, noting that demarcation lines would be redrawn to indicate where trading could take place.
He indicated that, within the next few weeks, the city would introduce clearer organisation measures, including marking out spaces for traders to operate behind specified lines and, on selected days, restricting some streets to allow controlled selling as had been done during the yuletide.
Touching on concerns raised about alleged land sales in the area, the Mayor assured traders that the government would not permit any illegal land transactions, stressing that no land could be sold without the required approvals from his office.
He also appealed for calm and unity, insisting that cooperation between traders and authorities was essential to achieving a safer and cleaner Accra.
For his part, Municipal Chief Executive for KoKMA, Hon. Alfred Allotey - Gaisie, said his Assembly had observed a return of roadside selling despite earlier directives, noting that the situation was affecting movement for both pedestrians and vehicles.
He indicated that enforcement inspections would begin at 3:00 a.m. on February 1, and that faded demarcation markings would be repainted to guide compliance.
Hon. Gaisie also cautioned that violations could lead to prosecution at the sanitation court, with offenders liable to fines or custodial sentences, and urged traders to avoid actions that could lead to seizure of goods.
Leader of the Container Owners Association, Diana Nyokopa Daniels, said the association recognised that the surge in roadside selling during the Christmas season had contributed to congestion and that, with the festivities over, traders needed to return to the spaces properly assigned to them.