The Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) has arrested a 46-year-old coconut trader for allegedly converting a designated walkway into an unauthorised storage and trading space.
The trader, identified as Emmanuel Awotwi, was arrested by an AMA enforcement team after more than 500 coconuts were found occupying a substantial portion of a bus stop along the Professor John Evans Atta Mills High Street near the Arts Centre.
He is believed to have used the bus stop, which serves as a designated area for vehicles to stop and pick up or drop off passengers, for the storage and retail distribution of coconuts without authorisation, despite ongoing public education and warnings against the misuse of public spaces.
According to the Assembly, his actions are contrary to the Assembly’s Control of Hawkers by-law (2017), sub-section (d), which states that a trader should not cause obstruction or impede the free movement of vehicular or human traffic.
Narrating the circumstances leading to his arrest, Mr Awotwi said he regularly transported coconuts from Takoradi to Accra for distribution to retailers operating around the Arts Centre enclave.
He explained that the coconuts were usually offloaded at night and distributed to retailers for sale.
However, on the night in question, he was unable to distribute the entire consignment, resulting in a large quantity of coconuts remaining at the bus stop until the arrival of the AMA enforcement team the following morning.
Speaking on the sidelines of the operation, the Accra Mayor, Michael Kpakpo Allotey, expressed concern about the growing practice of traders using bus stops, loading bays and other public transport facilities as storage and trading areas.
He added that such activities “obstruct public transport operations, inconvenience commuters and contribute to congestion” within the Central Business District (CBD).
The Mayor also raised concerns about the large quantities of coconut husks frequently left behind by coconut sellers after trading.
He said some traders indiscriminately dispose of the husks into drains, along roadsides and in other unauthorised locations, contributing to insanitary conditions and the blockage of drainage channels.
Mr. Allotey said the Assembly had on several occasions engaged and warned coconut traders operating within the CBD against improper waste disposal and the unauthorised use of public spaces.
He urged traders, suppliers and transporters to conduct their activities only at designated markets and authorised trading areas.
The Mayor further warned that persons who continue to trade, store goods or occupy bus stops, road reservations and other unauthorised public spaces would be arrested and face prosecution in accordance with the Assembly’s by-laws.
He emphasised that maintaining a clean, safe and orderly capital city requires the collective cooperation of traders, motorists, residents, transport operators, traditional authorities and all other stakeholders.
