Editorial: Hawking On Our Streets

Hawking on the streets of our regional capitals, especially in the city of Accra

became a common phenomenon that until the new Mayor of Accra, Dr. Alfred Oko

Vanderpuiji arrived no one believed it would be possible to halt it.

Sadly, several attempts by the previous governments to stop the hawking

have caused the nation huge sums of money. In the past, the Accra Metropolitan

Assembly (AMA) had recruited and trained people how to handle hawkers on the

streets.

We are aware that the AMA spent a lot of resources to organise some

workshops and seminars for hawkers. These efforts were aimed at shaping and

reforming their minds and attitudes of the hawkers to stop selling on the streets.

The threat of losing political power has weakened the political will of

those holding political offices to fight the canker.

The Rawlings Administration of the NDC could have been successful

sanitising the streets of Accra, but for fear of incurring the wrath of electorate.

We remember clearly how the leadership of the New Patriotic Party (NPP)

used the hawkers in the past against the NDC 1 and 2 that they were insensitive to

the plights of the people.

When the NPP finally assumed office the hawkers moved in droves to

takeover the streets of Accra because they had a belief that it was their government

in power, hence the appalling indiscipline on our streets.

The NPP administration led by President Kufuor could no longer contain

the barrage of embarrassment so they begun to chase out the hawkers off the streets.

The former Mayor of Accra under the NPP government, Mr. Adjiri Blackson,

promised the world that he would turn the national capital into a modern by

restoring sanity in the metropolis.

Against this backdrop, the government set up a whole Ministry meant for

the beautification of the cities and appointed Jake Obetsebi Lamptey as the

Minister.

For eight years the NPP spent in power, they sunk colossal sums of

taxpayers’ monies into decongestion exercise but they left behind worse city than

they came to meet.

Now, it is the turn of President John Evans Atta Mills. Over two and

half years in political power, the President has not ordered his men to stop the

exercise despite the oceanic waves of pressure coming from all angles.

In an interview with the PRO it was refreshing and encouraging as he

maintained that the AMA would carry through the exercise even in the forthcoming

elections in that President Mills Better Ghana Agenda would be a mirage should they

fail on this promise.

He was confident that although some unscrupulous people are trying

relentlessly to turn back the clock of successes they have achieved, they will never

prosper.

The Crystal Clear Lens appreciates the bravery the Mayor and his men

have put against the daunting task confronting them.

We want draw to the attention of the Mayor the impatience of some of his

men. As mush we appreciate the difficulties associated with the jobs, they need to

exercise maximum restraint to avoid public attacks.

If they have been trained to handle rowdy situation they must have the

patience to abide by it, else they would be given weapons of mass destruction to

their destructors to ruin their successes.