Member of Parliament for Ekumfi, Kwainoe Ekow Othniel, has urged the government to provide designated spaces for traders displaced by the ongoing decongestion exercise in Accra.
In an interview on Channel One Newsroom on Wednesday, May 21, the MP, who also serves on Parliament's Trade, Industry and Tourism Committee, acknowledged the societal benefits of the exercise.
He, however, stressed the need for support mechanisms for the affected traders.
According to him, although the operation is expected to bring long-term benefits in terms of sanitation, traffic flow, and urban planning, it must be accompanied by a human-centred approach that supports the affected individuals. "I think that in the long term, it might be good to create an area where some of these traders can basically sell their wares. "Definitely they need to survive so definitely, if government is able to put across an area or some kind of relief to these people, you let them know that what they are doing there is helping them but eventually it has a bigger impact on society therefore relocating them will be a good thing for all of us," he said.
