"Do Zuba and KMA want us to turn to prostitution to feed our children?" – Distraught trader cries after demolition exercise

A heartbroken trader has questioned whether Kumasi Mayor Richard Ofori Agyeman Boadi, popularly known as King Zuba, and the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA) expect traders to resort to prostitution to survive after their shops were demolished during the ongoing decongestion exercise around the Baba Yara Stadium.

Speaking amid tears after witnessing her shop reduced to rubble, the trader said the structure was her only source of income and that its demolition has left her and her children facing an uncertain future.

"Do Zuba and KMA want us to turn to prostitution to feed our children?" she asked emotionally.

According to her, she invested her savings into the business and depended on the daily proceeds to provide food, pay rent, and cater for her children's education. She said the demolition has taken away her means of survival without any immediate alternative.

The demolition forms part of a decongestion exercise being carried out by the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly to remove unauthorized structures and restore order around the Baba Yara Stadium and adjoining roads. City authorities have maintained that the exercise is intended to improve sanitation, enhance traffic flow, and reclaim public spaces.

However, the operation has sparked outrage among many affected traders, who insist they have lost their livelihoods and are appealing to the Assembly to provide alternative trading spaces or compensation.