AMA Orders All Shops To Close On Saturday

The Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) has ordered all shops within the metropolis to close on Saturday.

This is to make way for the first official clean-up exercise following the launch of the National Sanitation Day.

The closure directive will take effect from 6 am until the exercise is completed, it announced in a press statement.

“This citywide exercise being undertaken to rid Accra of filth, promote public health and strengthen our shared responsibility for a cleaner, safer and more resilient city is in accordance with the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (Communal Labour) Bye-Laws, 2017, enacted pursuant to section 181 of the Local Governance Act, 2016 (Act 936), which mandates the Assembly to set aside the first Saturday of the month as a National Sanitation Day.”

It noted that all Assembly Members will organise and lead simultaneous clean-up activities across their electoral areas for coordination and efficiency throughout the metropolis.

The Assembly also added that the operation will cover all sub-metropolitan areas, with intensified work in Agbogbloshie, Tuesday Market, Kwame Nkrumah Interchange and its environs, Kwasiadwaso and Kaneshie Market, where teams will desilt major drains, clear refuse and tidy market precincts to reduce flooding and environmental health risks.

“The AMA therefore calls on all residents, traders, shop owners, and stakeholders to strictly observe the temporary closure and actively participate in the exercise to ensure its timely completion, as Public Health Officers will be deployed across communities to monitor compliance and enforce the directive.”

It warned that a violation will attract a fine of up to one hundred penalty units or imprisonment of not less than thirty days and not more than six months, or both, with a continuing offence attracting an additional daily penalty.

Story by Hajara Fuseini

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