Ashaiman traders outwit taskforce to sell on the streets

Some traders in the Ashaiman Municipality have resorted to selling on the principal streets in the evenings, weekends and holidays to outwit the city’s taskforce.

During the week, members of the taskforce often chase and seize goods of traders selling on the streets to deter them from congesting the area.

The hawkers who claimed they needed the proceeds of their trade to care for their families had found solace in weekend and holiday trading due to the absence of the taskforce on such days.

A visit to the major streets revealed a busy atmosphere as traders freely displayed their goods on the shoulders of the road calling courting customers while others also either carried their wares or hanged them around their neck hawking from one end of the street to the other.

The goods ranged from foodstuffs such as tomatoes, onions, avocados, cooking oil, rice, cassava and personal effects like secondhand shoes and clothing, mobile phones and accessories, among others.

Their activities had led to serious vehicular and human traffic as traders, vehicles, wares and pedestrians compete for the narrow roads especially the traffic light area through, the market lane, and the Ashaiman Government School, as well as the main station area.

Mr Bright Appiah, a commercial driver told the GNA that even though the taskforce often seized the wares of the traders and decongest the area for free movement, they seemed to have developed a new strategy of selling on weekends, evening and holidays while the Assembly was not working.

Mr Appiah added that even though the traders knew the dangers involved in selling on the streets, they were not perturbed as they were determined to make a living.

While some of the traders said the market was not big enough to accommodate all of them, others stated that they preferred selling on the streets because buyers were ready to buy from them instead of entering the market to shop.

They therefore pleaded with government to allow them to sell on the streets to make some income to educate their children.

A pedestrian, who only gave her name as Lydia, expressed frustration at the congestion caused by the activities of the traders on the streets, suggesting that the Assembly could block the road and used it as a market on holidays as sacking them had yielded no result.

Mr Albert Boakye Okyere, Ashaiman Municipal Chief Executive, told the GNA that the Assembly expected the traders to abide by its bye-laws even in the absence of the taskforce.

Mr Okyere said his outfit might intensify the activities of the taskforce to ensure that the traders stayed off the streets irrespective of which day of the week it was.

He, however, added that his outfit would look at structuring and maintaining the weekend market to ensure the traders sell their wares without impeding traffic flow.