Some are doing brisk business along the rail line.

Traders return after demolition of illegal structures

By Charles Andoh May - 24 - 2021 , 13:49

Three days after illegal structures on the Graphic Road in Accra were demolished by city authorities last Tuesday, some traders have relocated their wares to other parts of the same stretch.

While the Beyeeman Freezing Company Limited area, which is known for the burning of scraps, was almost deserted, some traders had carried their wares to the railway lines.

Items including scraps, mats, used fridges and tomato crates had been left on the rail lines on the Graphic Road.

Others had also deposited their luggage at a mechanic shop on the Graphic Road at Adabraka in Accra.

Demolition exercise
Organised by the Greater Accra Regional Coordinating Council (GARCC), in collaboration with the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA), the Ablekuma Central and the Korle Klottey municipal assemblies, the day-long operation involved a massive clean-up of drains, streets and other open places.

The place looked neat after last Tuesday’s decongestion exercise

The ‘Let’s Make Accra Work’ initiative by the Greater Accra Regional Minister, Mr Henry Quartey, saw a massive decongestion exercise that resulted in hundreds of unauthorised structures being removed to keep Accra clean.

The exercise commenced from the UTC Market on the Kwame Nkrumah Avenue, through the Farisco area, along the Graphic Road to the Obetsebi-Lamptey Interchange.

Led by Mr Quartey, the Korle Klottey Municipal Chief Executive (MCE), Nii Adjei Tawiah, and the AMA Chief Executive, Mr Mohammed Adjei Sowah, the team began the exercise on the Graphic Road, where makeshift containers were cleared from the shoulders of the road to enhance the beauty of the capital city.

Members of the security agencies including the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF), the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS), the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS), together with workers of Zoomlion Ghana Limited (ZGL), participated in the decongestion and clean-up exercise.

Staff of companies on the principal roads, including the Graphic Communications Group Limited (GCGL), Rana Motors, Toyota Ghana Limited, Pepsi Cola, and CAL Bank participated in the campaign.

Visit
When The Mirror yesterday toured the Graphic Road from Beyeeman Freezing Company Limited area to the Farisco traffic light, some of the people displaced were counting their losses.

As of Wednesday, a truck full of scraps was seen offloading along the rail line while dealers at the Graphic bus stop were sitting at their usual points with their weighing scale ready for business.

The pavements in front of GCGL and Accra Brewery Limited, which had almost been turned into a market, was empty at the time of the visit.
Efforts to speak to some of the affected proved futile as they angrily refused to answer questions posed by this reporter.

Before and after exercise
Areas which were affected by the decongestion contained structures, most of them built with wood.

They served as abodes for squatters and an alleged den of criminals.

The sanitation situation in those places was nothing to write home about, as people dumped waste indiscriminately.

Part of the rubbish had found its way onto the streets.

While some of the affected persons counted their losses, scavengers and scrap dealers busily searched through the debris, collecting roofing sheets, iron rods and pieces of wood.

An excavator loaded the waste materials onto tipper trucks which carted them away.

The exercise will be carried out in all the 29 municipalities in the Greater Accra Region.

So far, six have been covered.