Mayor of Accra, Michael Allotey, says the solution to the city\u2019s persistent street trading problem lies in empowering the very people often blamed for it \u2014 the market women.<\/p>\n
According to him, past Mayors failed because they did not work directly with the traders, and he is changing that.<\/p>\n
\u201cI promise one thing, I\u2019m going to work with a market woman,\u201d the Mayor said on\u00a0PM Express<\/em>\u00a0on Tuesday night.<\/p>\n \u201cYou see, today during the decongestion exercise, the market women understood that we have to fix this. It is a problem that most of the time, the Mayors don\u2019t deal with the market women directly. But this time, I\u2019m dealing with them.\u201d<\/p>\n He believes the market women hold the key to lasting order in the city.<\/p>\n \u201cThey know the problem, because they are in there, and they know how to go about it. They have told me what they want me to do for them, and this is what I\u2019m going to do for them,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n As part of the new strategy, Mayor Allotey will appoint leaders from within the traders\u2019 ranks. \u201cMaybe I\u2019ll pick four or five of them to be their leader,\u201d he revealed.<\/p>\n \u201cSo I\u2019m going to have a red line, which former Mayor Alfred Okoe Vanderpuye did. I\u2019m going to have a similar red line tomorrow. So they\u2019re going to stay behind the line, and the leaders will control them.\u201d<\/p>\n But unlike the past, he insists this won\u2019t be a symbolic gesture.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not something that\u2019s another 9-day wonder thing,\u201d he stressed. \u201cIt\u2019s something that has come to stay, and I want it to stay.<\/p>\n “Because it\u2019s something I want to do, such that if I\u2019m no more the mayor, it\u2019s one of the things I want to leave behind \u2014 for a legacy to be that when the mayor said he will clear the road, he made sure he left the road clear.\u201d<\/p>\n When host Evans Mensah pointed out that Mayor Okoe Vanderpuye\u2019s red line initiative failed to last, Mr. Allotey said he has learned from that experience.<\/p>\n \u201cWe need men to guide the red line. But the only thing we did at that time was we just picked the people from the market women and the market men to guide the red line.\u201d<\/p>\n This time, the Mayor is going all in.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m bringing over 1000 youth to run day and night,\u201d he said. \u201cThe 24-hour economy policy, I want it to start from AMA. AMA is going to start 24-hour ticketing, clearing refuse, putting a task force in place, etc. Everything will be on 24 hours.\u201d<\/p>\n He said the city will no longer sleep while lawlessness takes hold. \u201cWe\u2019re going to work to make sure the city stays alive until morning. So, this time is not something that is like previously, no.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n