The Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) has arrested a 46‑year‑old coconut trader for allegedly converting a designated walkway into an unauthorised storage and trading space.
The trader, identified as Emmanuel Awotwi, was apprehended by an AMA enforcement team after more than 500 coconuts were found occupying a substantial portion of a bus stop along the Professor John Evans Atta Mills High Street near the Arts Centre. The action contravenes the Assembly’s Control of Hawkers By‑law (2017), sub‑section (d), which prohibits traders from obstructing or impeding the free movement of vehicular or human traffic.
According to the Assembly, Mr. Awotwi had used the bus stop — a designated area for vehicles to pick up and drop off passengers — for the storage and retail distribution of coconuts without authorisation, despite ongoing public education and warnings against the misuse of public spaces.
Narrating the circumstances leading to his arrest, Mr. Awotwi explained that he regularly transported coconuts from Takoradi to Accra for distribution to retailers around the Arts Centre enclave. He said the coconuts were usually offloaded at night and distributed to retailers, but on the night in question, he was unable to complete the distribution, leaving a large consignment at the bus stop until the AMA enforcement team arrived the following morning.
Speaking on the sidelines of the operation, the Mayor of Accra, Hon. Michael Kpakpo Allotey, expressed concern about the growing practice of traders using bus stops, loading bays, and other public transport facilities as storage and trading areas. He noted that such activities obstruct public transport operations, inconvenience commuters, and contribute to congestion within the Central Business District (CBD).
The Mayor also raised concerns about the large quantities of coconut husks frequently left behind by sellers, stating that some traders indiscriminately dispose of husks into drains, along roadsides, and in unauthorised locations, contributing to insanitary conditions and blocked drainage channels.
Hon. Allotey emphasised that the Assembly had repeatedly engaged and warned coconut traders against improper waste disposal and the unauthorised use of public spaces. He urged traders, suppliers, and transporters to conduct their activities only at designated markets and authorised trading areas.
He further warned that persons who continue to trade, store goods, or occupy bus stops, road reservations, and other unauthorised public spaces would be arrested and prosecuted in accordance with the Assembly’s by‑laws.
“Maintaining a clean, safe, and orderly capital city requires the collective cooperation of traders, motorists, residents, transport operators, traditional authorities, and all other stakeholders,” the Mayor stressed.
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