The Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) has issued spot fines to six shop owners, four traders, and three drivers in the Central Business District for flouting the National Sanitation Day (NSD) exercise directive not to operate.
The six shop owners around Rawlings Park were fined for failing to clean drains in front of their premises and operating during the exercise, while the four traders were sanctioned for selling during the clean-up period. The three drivers were also fined for parking at unauthorised places.
The exercise, which was held despite heavy rainfall, formed part of the Assembly’s efforts to improve sanitation, prevent flooding, and ensure the free flow of water through the city’s drainage systems.
Speaking to the media during the exercise, the Mayor of Accra, Hon. Michael Kpakpo Allotey, said the Assembly remained determined to carry out the clean-up despite the rains that began the previous night, adding that staff of the Assembly and other participants worked through the rain to make the exercise successful.
He said the Assembly encountered challenges with some shop owners who failed to participate in the clean-up and did not clean their surroundings, prompting the AMA to enforce its sanitation regulations and issue spot fines to offenders.
Hon. Allotey said that although the exercise was successful, sanitation remained a continuous responsibility and not a one-day activity, adding that the Assembly would continue cleaning areas that could not be covered during the exercise.
The Mayor noted that many residents and traders were still adjusting to the reintroduced NSD initiative because it had not been observed for more than four years, stressing the need for renewed public education, discipline, and participation.
He said flooding in Accra was largely caused by human activities, including dumping of refuse into drains, building on waterways without permits, and placing structures or goods in drainage channels, warning that the Assembly would continue to remove obstructions from waterways.
Hon. Allotey disclosed that he had supervised the demolition of some unauthorised structures obstructing waterways a day before the exercise and warned that persons caught dumping refuse into drains and waterways would be prosecuted, fined, or imprisoned, subject to the decision of the court.
He announced that the Assembly was introducing a whistleblower incentive programme under which any person who reported someone dumping refuse into drains or waterways and provided credible information leading to the arrest and prosecution of the offender would receive a GH¢200 reward.
Touching on road works in the area, the Mayor said the reconstruction of the Rawlings Park road was being done in two phases, with phase one at CMB completed, while phase two at Rawlings Park had been delayed due to persistent rains, adding that materials had been delivered to the site and assured residents that work would resume once the weather improved, with substantial completion expected by next week.
By: Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana