The Accra Metropolitan Assembly has denied members of its Rapid Response Unit (RRU) assaulted a hawker at the Kwame Nkrumah Interchange resulting in scuffles between hawkers and the AMA taskforce on Saturday 13 May.
According to the AMA, the brouhaha was rather between personnel of the United Creative Solutions (UCS), a company contracted by the AMA to manage the lawn and other facilities at the Kwame Nkrumah Interchange, and a trader who was believed to have trespassed to the decongested area.
The AMA in a statement said contrary to media reports, no one died as a result of the incident “though regrettably one trader was injured and is receiving medical attention at the 37 Military Hospital at the full expense of management of UCS”.
Hawkers at the Kwame Nkrumah Interchange area, as a result of the brawl between one of them who had flouted the assembly’s law not to sell on the pavement and an officer of the UCS, vandalised a structure belonging to the UCS facility management and accompanying structures belonging to the AMA. The Fire Service and Ambulance Service were also affected by the acts of vandalism. It took the intervention of police to restore order.
Below is the full statement:
The attention of the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) has been drawn to a story in some sections of the media of an incident that occurred at the Kwame Nkrumah Interchange on Saturday, May 13, 2017.
It is about a trader who was alleged to have been assaulted by personnel of the AMA Rapid Response Unit (RRU); a unit tasked to ensure that hawkers do not encroach the pavements around the Interchange.
The publications so far contained some factual inaccuracies that the AMA would like to correct in order not to give the public a misleading impression about the incident. It is unfortunate that none of the media that carried the story verified their facts with the AMA before publication.
What occurred there did not involve the AMA Rapid Response Unit (RRU). It was rather between personnel of the United Creative Solutions (UCS), a company contracted by the AMA to manage the lawn and other facilities at the circle Interchange, and a trader who was believed to have trespassed to the decongested area.
Contrary to media reports, no one died as a result of the incident though regrettably one trader was injured and is receiving medical attention at the 37 Military Hospital at the full expense of management of UCS.
AMA is investigating the matter and will put measures in place to avoid any future occurrence of such incidences.
The AMA have also noticed that some undisciplined traders want to use this incident as a leeway to frustrate the efforts of sanitising the enclave.
We therefore state unequivocally that the AMA will not relent in its efforts to fully implement our bylaws and activate the punitive sanctions thereof.
The AMA however entreats all city dwellers to support the efforts being rolled out as we strive to make Accra the cleanest city in Africa.
-Signed-
NUMMO BLAFO III
Director, Public Relations
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