Traders Unhappy With AMA
Traders at Rawlings Park in Accra have called on the Mayor of Accra, Alfred Okoe Vanderpuije, to compel telecommunications companies that lay their network cables underground to cover the trenches in the city.
Obiri Boateng, leader of the traders, who disclosed this in an interview with CITY & BUSINESS GUIDE , claimed the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) oversaw the digging of the trenches.
'We are not against the AMA's position to give parcels of land to anyone but it should ensure that the right things are always done.'
He alleged that the telecommunications companies paid money to AMA in order to lay their cables underground in various parts of the city.
'Our main concern is the deliberate refusal of contractors to cover up the trenches as soon as they are through with the laying of the cables.
'Why didn't they choose any other different place but the spaces in front of our shops?'
He noted that the traders regularly pay taxes to the AMA and stressed the need for the AMA to treat them fairly.
'Anytime we try to question the AMA's staff who come here daily to collect taxes from us in the market, they refuse to give us answers.'
'We are suffering from the stench that emanates from these uncovered trenches and this is making life uncomfortable for us,' he revealed.
He noted that the uncovered trenches do not only serve as a death trap but a mosquito breeding site, adding traders suffer mosquito bites each day.
Mr Boateng further explained that the digging of the trenches was done in the night making it difficult for the traders to arrest the culprits.
'These things have been here since November 2011 and nothing seems to be done about it,' he added.
'This situation is risky to pedestrians who usually use this lane. We are therefore calling on the AMA boss to find a lasting solution to the problem before we hit the streets to demonstrate against him.'
By Portia Anaman