AMA Announces Christmas Trading Hours Under ‘Operation Let the Traffic Flow’
Story by: Regina Bless
The Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) has announced plans to designate selected streets in the metropolis for trading from 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. ahead of the Christmas festivities under an initiative dubbed “Operation Let the Traffic Flow.”
The initiative is aimed at providing traders with designated spaces to operate during the festive season while improving traffic movement and reducing congestion within the Central Business District and adjoining areas.
The Mayor of Accra, Hon. Michael Kpakpo Allotey, announced the proposed arrangements on Saturday, November 7, 2026, during activities marking the November edition of the National Sanitation Day.
He explained that the initiative, being implemented in collaboration with neighbouring assemblies, was designed to accommodate the anticipated increase in trading activities during Christmas without compromising traffic flow and accessibility.
On enforcement, the Mayor directed traders operating at bus stops to vacate the areas immediately, emphasising that the locations were strictly reserved for public transport operations.
He said traders who had appealed for an extension until Monday had been granted additional time to relocate but warned that goods left at the bus stops after the deadline would be confiscated and donated to a children’s home.
Hon. Allotey clarified that the Assembly was not seeking to remove all traders from the pavements. Instead, traders operating within officially demarcated areas would be allowed to continue their businesses, provided they remained behind the prescribed red lines.
He urged traders to comply with the directive, stressing that the restrictions were necessary to ensure the free movement of vehicles and pedestrians and prevent obstruction of public transport operations.
The Mayor also emphasised that sanitation was a key condition for trading, noting that traders who maintained clean surroundings would be allowed to operate, while those who failed to do so would not be permitted to trade.
He reiterated the government’s commitment to supporting traders and improving their livelihoods, assuring them that the assemblies were working to create an orderly business environment where commercial activities could thrive.
Meanwhile, the Municipal Chief Executive for Korle Klottey Municipal Assembly, Hon. Alfred Allotey Gaisie, said the two assemblies were collaborating to ensure the coordinated implementation of the proposed trading arrangements.
He explained that the planned street closures would focus on roads where trading activities were already intense, rather than major routes required for uninterrupted traffic movement.
The initiative is expected to help balance the economic interests of traders with the need for effective traffic management, sanitation and orderly trading during the Christmas season.