AMA fines six food vendors GH¢1,100 for breaching national sanitation day directive

Written by; Regina Bless

The Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) has fined six food vendors a total of GH¢1,100 for operating their businesses during the September edition of the National Sanitation Day (NSD) exercise.

The vendors, who were found operating at Okaishie and in front of UTC, Makola Mall, were sanctioned after AMA officials discovered that they were conducting business instead of participating in the sanitation exercise.

Among those fined was a kenkey seller who is a relative of the Accra Mayor, Hon. Michael Kpakpo Allotey. The Mayor said the action was deliberate and intended to demonstrate that the Assembly’s enforcement of sanitation directives would be applied without fear or favour.

According to Mayor Allotey, sanctioning his own relative was meant to show that nobody is above the law, regardless of personal relationships or connections.

He stressed that if a member of his own family could be sanctioned for violating the sanitation directive, other residents and businesses should also expect to face the law when they fail to comply.

The Mayor urged traders, food vendors and residents to take the National Sanitation Day exercise seriously, emphasising that keeping Accra clean is a shared responsibility.

He encouraged businesses and residents to use the designated sanitation period to clean their immediate surroundings before commencing their daily activities.

Mayor Allotey added that the exercise was not solely about punishment but also about promoting behavioural change and making regular cleaning a responsibility for every resident and business operator.