Decongestion: If you delay in vacating from trading at unlawful spaces in Kumasi, I will bring my friends to cane you – New KMA Boss, Zuba issues warning
Traders operating along pavements and roadsides in the central business district (CBD) have been given a strict two-week deadline by Kumasi Mayor Richard Ofori Agyemang Boadi. Those who refuse to leave will face penalties, including the contentious threat of beating.
Speaking to the media during a press conference in Kumasi on Monday, April 14, the mayor said that the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA) will start a decongestion operation on Wednesday, April 16, 2024, to remove vendors who have occupied roadside areas and pedestrian walkways.
Mr. Boadi claims that the KMA’s prior attempts to retake the pavements—by making arrests and seizing goods—have failed because vendors keep coming back in violation of the bylaws. He attributed the city’s increasing congestion and disarray on these recurring acts of indiscipline.
“I have my own military-democratic style which I will be implementing. When we say leave the space, and you don’t leave the space and I get there, and you’re not there and my boys are with me, there and there we will beat you,” he warned.
“In the middle of Adum, if I’m alone, you will be lucky, but if I’m with my ten boys, in their pickup with their whips, trust me, we will beat you. If you don’t want to experience that kind of situation, do what is right and lawful,”
The KMA asserts that it is still committed to restoring Kumasi’s reputation as a clean and orderly city and demands that traders comply or suffer the repercussions.
However, the Assembly’s capacity to balance enforcement and dignity may be crucial to the outcome of the next decongestion exercise.
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