Traders appeal to government for time

The United Traders Association at the Tema Station has appealed to government and the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) to reconsider the decision to dislocate them and to allow them to continue with their trading activities. "The decision by AMA has cost us a lot economically but we are still pleading with the authorities to give us up to December to settle". Mr Daniel Adjei Adjetey, Chairman of the Association who said this at a press conference in Accra, described the manner in which the exercise was carried out as inhuman. He said there was only a short notice by the AMA and they could not pack their wares. "We only had an AMA van announcing the demolition exercise and after three days they came to destroy several goods and hardware amounting to millions of cedis." He said members of the association paid monthly ground rent, in-come tax, yearly license and Internal Revenue tax. Mr Adjetey said the exercise had "relegated them to square zero economically. Majority of the traders here have gone for loans under the government's micro-finance loan scheme". He alleged that the exercise was selective since traders at some areas such as the Novotel, which is an eyesore to visitors, were allowed to operate. Mr Adjetey said though they had petitioned AMA, the Regional Minister and the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development, there had been no response from them. He said AMA's action was a clear signal to increase the incidence of poverty, streetism, prostitution, HIV/AIDS and other social vices since most of them did not have anybody to rely on. The displaced traders looked disgruntled and helpless at the time GNA got to the scene and debris from their wares could be found scattered all over the place. A cloth seller told the GNA that she had taken 60 million from government to invest in the business. Their cry to government is therefore to be relocated or be allowed to operate to enable them get their daily bread.