Squatters invade ministries area

THERE has been an upsurge in illegal trading activities within the Ministries area in Accra, where government’s day-to-day transactions are carried out.
The illegal business activities include the sale of cooked food on the streets within the area, tie and dye materials, coconuts, herbal products and fried yams, among others.
Other hawkers also could be seen meandering their way through the various Ministries to sell their items, which include belts, shoes, used clothing, assorted fruits, watches and groundnuts.
A visit to the area showed some workers and visitors patronising cooked food such as rice, kenkey, tea and confectioneries.
While some were seen eating at the food joints, which are on the streets within the Ministries, others were seen carrying away their food items in black plastic bags to their various offices.
Another feature noticed at the area was how the illegal traders engaged in arguments over issues of politics and sports.
Auntie Ama, one of the canteen operators in the area, said although the illegal trading activities were a nuisance, nobody seemed to bring those behind them to order.
“Now anybody can come and sell here and nobody would say anything and the indiscriminate activities do not speak well of the area,” she said.
“Master, the cost of the food at the canteens in the area is high and we can’t afford it. For instance, at our canteen, if you don’t have GH¢2 or GH¢2.50 you can’t eat but at the roadside, with GH¢ 1, you can get food to buy.
“Even our big men send us to buy from these traders and hawkers,” a worker at one of the Ministries, who wants to remain anonymous, told the Daily Graphic, adding that the issue was a major one that needed to be addressed well.
He said although the activities of the hawkers and traders were a bother, they were rendering invaluable services, and stressed the need for their activities to be streamlined so that their activities did not become a nuisance.
Reacting to the situation, the Director of Finance and Administration of the Office of Head of Civil Service, Mr Ohene Okai, said “the indiscriminate sale of various items anywhere in the Ministries is a big challenge to us”.
He recalled the action taken by a former Minister of Public Sector Reforms, Dr Papa Kwesi Nduom, to clear the area of such illegal activities.
“It is unfortunate that these traders have found their way back,” adding that he was going to call a meeting of directors next week Tuesday, January 26, 2010, to discuss the matter and find a solution to it.
Mr Okai said such a practice should not be allowed to go on, and that eventually a security firm would be contracted to take charge of the Ministries to enforce actions that would be taken against the illegal traders.
“We have given ourselves up to March 31, 2010 to restore the place to its true status,” he said.