A broadcast journalist and a sympathiser of the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC), Kwabena Bobie Ansah, has critisied the comment by the Kumasi Mayor, Richard Ofori Agyemang Boadi, to whip offenders who flout the law of trading on pavements.
He said that corporal punishment is not in the law and that citizens will resist any attempt by any individual to implement their wishful thinking.
“Look, I have listened to the KMA boss Zuba and I want to tell Zuba with a loud voice that he can’t beat any offender on the Kumasi streets. Corporal punishment is not found anywhere in our laws and, therefore, we will resist any attempt by any individual to implement his wishful thinking” he stated.
On his Facebook page, Ansah said that the mayor should make it a point to enforce the decongestion by-laws of the metropolis to deter offenders from engaging in such acts or ask them to pay fines if applicable.
He questioned the approach by the KMA boss to resolve the menace, calling on the leadership of the NDC to condemn the act and advise the MCE to apologise for the comment.
“Do you want to tell me we will wake up one day and watch a video where macho men are seen lashing a 50, 60 years woman on the streets for flouting KMA law? NDC must condemn this distasteful commenting and ask Zuba to apologise,” he said.
Allegedly, he said with this approach, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) can assign thugs to undertake the initiative and rather pin it on the MCE.
“The NPP can get some boys to beat the Kumasi market women and blame it on Zuba. Yoooooo! We’ve struggled to make the party look attractive, hwɛ deɛ mo yi yɛ,” he added.
This comes after the KMA boss expressed concern over the safety and well-being of both traders and pedestrians operating within the Central Business District, which has gained public criticisms and backlash among the citizenry.
In his bid to address persistent congestion, he issued a two-week notice to traders operating on pavements, urging them to find alternative spaces for their businesses.
In his own words, he said that; “I have my own military-democratic style which I will be implementing. When we say leave the space and you don’t leave the space and I get there, and you’re not there and my boys are with me, there and then, we will beat you,” he warned.
He further stated; “In the middle of Adum, if I’m alone, you will be lucky, but if I’m with my ten boys, in their pick-up with their whips, trust me, we will beat you. If you don’t want to experience that kind of situation, do what is right and lawful.
“This is Otumfuo’s city, this is the Garden City of West Africa, and we have to preserve it. If you want the job to be difficult for me, I will let your body feel the difficulty you are giving to me.”
VA/AE
