Fifty–seven recalcitrant hawkers have so far been arrested in the Central Business District of Kumasi, two weeks after the beginning of the decongestion exercise undertaken by the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly.
Twenty–six of them have been tried and fined ¢500,000 each and bonded to be of good behaviour for one year ,others still facing trial at the Ash–Town Magistrate Court, while the rest of them are being processed into the dock.
Disclosing this to newsmen in Kumasi on Wednesday, the Kumasi Central Divisional Crime Officer, ASP Kwaku Duah said lighter sentences were imposed on offending hawkers because it was the first time people were being tried in relation to the decongestion exercise.
He warned that stiffer punishment would be meted out to subsequent offenders, as disclosed by the court, and therefore called on others to desist from selling on the pavements since it was against the bye-laws of the assembly,which would be strictly enforced by the police and the task force of the assembly this time.
He noted that although the demolishing exercise had ended, the rest of the decongestion exercise, such as the driving away of hawkers and the prosecution of offending ones were still ongoing and would not be a nine day wonder as claimed by a section of the public.
ASP Kwaku Duah revealed that no pedestrian had been arrested for violating the laws of movement on the street because most of them were now adapting to the new condition of the city.
He has called on all residents of the city to help make the decongestion exercise a success to give Kumasi a befitting status as a metropolis.
