AMA announces operation under Kwame Nkrumah Interchange to clear food vendors, hawkers, encroachers - See all affected

• Michael Kpakpo Allotey has warned that traders, hawkers and beggars operating under the Kwame Nkrumah Interchange will face prosecution.

• The Accra Metropolitan Assembly cleared vendors, makeshift structures and unauthorised activities as part of a sanitation and by-law enforcement exercise.

• The mayor also ordered businesses and property users around Otublohum Road to clear choked gutters within 24 hours or face sanctions.

The Mayor of Accra, Michael Kpakpo Allotey, has issued a strong warning against hawking, trading and all unauthorised activities under the Kwame Nkrumah Interchange, popularly known as the Circle Interchange, saying offenders will face prosecution.

READ ALSO: AMA to commence special night operation to arrest food vendors without medical screening

The warning came on Tuesday when the mayor led a task force from the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) to clear food vendors, beggars and people sleeping under the Korle Klottey section of the interchange during a working visit to the Okaikoi South Sub-Metropolitan District.

According to the AMA, the exercise formed part of a broader inspection to assess sanitation conditions, building permit compliance and enforcement of Assembly by-laws across parts of the capital.

Speaking during the operation, the mayor said the Assembly would no longer tolerate the use of the area under the interchange for business, food vending, sleeping or any other illegal activity.

READ ALSO: Government imposes curfew in parts of Oti Region amid security concernss

He stressed that the area must remain clean, safe and free from obstruction for both pedestrians and motorists.

Hon. Allotey warned that anyone found hawking, selling or engaging in unlawful activities under the interchange would be dealt with according to the law.

The operation also saw the demolition of makeshift wooden structures and unauthorised stalls that had taken over parts of the area, worsening sanitation and creating safety risks.

Before moving to the interchange, the mayor and his team demolished illegal wooden structures erected along the shoulders of Otublohum Road near the Circle VVIP Station.

According to him, such structures contribute heavily to traffic congestion, poor sanitation and obstruction of public spaces in the city.

He further directed owners of drinking spots, management of the VVIP Station and cattle owners operating around Otublohum Road to desilt choked gutters within 24 hours or face sanctions.

The latest enforcement forms part of the AMA’s renewed campaign to tackle sanitation challenges and restore order in Accra.

Illegal street trading and hawking remain major urban management challenges in the capital, particularly around busy commercial hubs such as Circle, Kaneshie and the Central Business District.

City authorities have struggled to control traders who spill onto pavements and roads, often citing lack of market space and economic hardship as reasons for operating in unauthorised locations.

READ ALSO: Hackers are using FortiBleed to break into business networks - CSA explains the threat

Flooding has also remained a major concern in Accra, with choked drains frequently blamed for worsening the impact of heavy rains.

The June 3, 2015 disaster, which combined severe flooding and a gas explosion near Circle, remains one of the deadliest urban tragedies in Ghana’s history, killing a lot of people and reigniting concerns over poor drainage and uncontrolled urban activities.