Local governance expert, Dr Eric Oduro Osae, has placed the blame for the chaotic urban trading scenes squarely at the feet of local authorities.
The Director-General of the Internal Audit Agency (IAA) says the disorder on city streets is not accidental, but the direct result of failure by metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies (MMDAs) to strictly enforce their bylaws.
“The first reason is failure on the part of local government to be able to enforce their bylaws strictly,” Dr. Oduro Osae stated on JoyNews’ PM Express on Tuesday, May 20.
He said authorities have the power and the legal backing to act, but have allowed the situation to spiral due to inaction.
He added that the problem is deepened by political interference.
“The second one is on political interference and politicisation of the process,” he said.
According to him, even when city authorities try to act, they are often stopped by higher political powers who fear losing electoral support.
“When you will get a chief executive who may want to keep the traders off the streets, but if it is an election year, you can be sure that this cannot happen,” he revealed.
“If it is not an election year, a chief executive starts before you realise order from above. An order from above means because the chief executive was appointed by the President, and also it is likely to cost the government in power, the chief executive will have to discontinue.”
Dr. Oduro Osae described this pattern as a major setback to sustainable city planning.
“These three factors affected the implementation of a strategy to make sure that the cities in Ghana…” he noted, trailing off in frustration at the missed opportunities to instil order.
He did not stop at enforcement and politics. He also pointed to a lack of planning.
“The third one is the unavailability of medium, short, medium and long-term strategies to ensure that we keep the traders off the city,” he said.
For him, enforcement without a strategic vision will fail to bring lasting solutions.
According to Dr. Oduro Osae, Ghana’s cities are caught in a loop where laws are ignored, politics overrule planning, and no roadmap exists to break the cycle.
