The Greater Accra Regional Minister, Henry Quartey, says efforts in making his ‘Let’s Accra Work’ campaign have not gone the way he had envisaged due to the economic crisis.
He laments his inability to pursue his project of ensuring that the city becomes one of the disciplined capital cities in West Africa.
According to him, he couldn’t have been insensitive to the plight of traders who were selling on pedestrian walkways.
The Regional Minister launched the ‘Let’s Make Accra Work’ campaign with a view of helping to bring discipline and sanity to the region.
Mr. Quartey has gone on the quiet in the last few months with rumours rife that he has given up on this ‘Let’s Make Accra Work’ campaign following the massive resistance he encountered from affected persons and other people within the governing New Patriotic Party.
Speaking on Kokrokoo on Peace FM, the Regional Minister said, “From where I sit, things haven’t gone the way I wanted them to go. By God’s grace, we started ‘Let’s Make Accra Work’ on a good note with support from the media, corporate bodies, government, and everybody jumped on board. But between August -September 2022, our efforts began to go upside down due to the economic situation.
“Frankly speaking, people were hit hard by the economic crisis, so it was difficult embarking on the project. The crisis has indeed slowed down the project. I couldn’t have added problems to their already burdened issues by evicting them from selling on passenger ways. That would have been insensitive on my part to the plight of the people [traders]”.
He bemoans the attitudes of people which are some of the reasons that have stalled the ‘Let’s Make Accra Work’, calling on the media to educate the public to desist from indiscriminately throwing refuse around.
“We need to seriously educate our people on their attitudes of throwing indiscriminately refuse around the city, over speeding etc. The project hasn’t gotten to the stage I wanted, clearly there’s more room for improvement. I will appeal to the media to use their medium to sensitise the public.
“We need to create awareness that it’s not my conviction that traders should be evicted and people who throw rubbish around be punished. We need to let the average person understand that it’s a civic responsibility for him/her to help the system to help him to work,” the Regional Minister appealed.
The saddened Regional Minister refused to mention if his efforts are being thwarted by some saboteurs within his party, the New Patriotic Party (NPP).
