Kumasi Mayor Richard Ofori Agyemang Boadi, popularly known as Zuba, has defended his remarks suggesting the use of corporal punishment to enforce compliance during a planned city decongestion exercise.
During a media address, Mr. Boadi warned traders and street hawkers who defy orders to vacate unauthorized spaces that they risk being beaten by his team during the upcoming operation.
“When we say leave this space and you don’t, when I come there with my boys and you’re not lucky, we will beat you. If I am alone, you’ll be lucky. But if I have my 10 boys with me in their pickup, and they have their whips, trust me—we will beat you. Do what is right and lawful,” he said.
The comments, which have drawn widespread public backlash, come ahead of a major decongestion exercise scheduled to begin Wednesday.
The operation targets traders occupying pavements, road medians, and other unauthorized public spaces within the Central Business District of Kumasi.
Speaking on Morning Starr with Naa Dedei Tettey, Mr. Boadi defended his approach, citing the deteriorating sanitation and growing disorder in the city as justification for his hardline stance.
Zuba acknowledged the impact of ongoing construction, particularly the Kejetia Phase 2 project, as a contributing factor to the overflow of traders into unauthorized areas. However, he stressed that certain actions remain unacceptable.
“If you were to come to Kumasi and drive from the Komfo Anokye Roundabout through the Zoo Roundabout, towards the Zoo Road, and towards Adeshyemna—what we call ‘Rome’—you would wonder if this is Kumasi. The whole place is engulfed in filth. People are selling on the shoulders of the road. People are selling on the median of the dual carriageway within the central business district.
“I appreciate the fact that because of the construction of Kejetia Phase 2, some of the spillover was inevitable. But to sell in the median—where people cook—in the middle of the road, in the middle of the city, we cannot accept it.”
Mr. Boadi added that his administration is determined to restore order and cleanliness in Kumasi and reposition the city as a hub for investment and economic growth.
He also made a distinction between immediate targets and future plans, noting that traders on pavements would not be his immediate focus.
“Now, go to what we call the Otumfuo Roundabout, not far from Hello FM. Go and see the filth and the stench there. I don’t want people to say that the NDC was voted into power to come and change what was there, and we’ve failed to do so. My job is to make sure the city of Kumasi looks like Otumfuo’s city. And I am determined—with the support of Nananom and my superiors—to transform Kumasi and position it for investment and job creation.
“So, in doing so, I’m saying that those who are on the pavement—I’m not going there. You can stay on the pavement for now while I look at options for relocating you to alternative satellite markets. But immediately, I want to rid the city of all the filth.”
Mr. Boadi stated that no cleanup effort would accommodate vendors who continue to operate amid unsanitary conditions.
“Nobody should expect that while I’m leading a team to sweep areas filled with filth, people will still be standing there selling and expect me to clean around them. It should not happen.”
Source: Ghana/StarrFM103.5FM/Hamdia Mohammed
