Posted: Daily Guide |Thursday, 06 May 2010
By Charles Takyi-Boadu
ACCRA CITY Mayor, Alfred Okoe Vanderpuije, may be doing all it takes to sanitize the capital, but his ‘boys’ at the Holy Gardens at Kwame Nkrumah Circle are engrossed in massive extortion which stinks to high heavens.
The officials have been extorting money ranging from GH¢10.00 to GH¢300.00 from poor and innocent traders when they seize their items.
This follows extensive investigations by DAILY GUIDE into the activities and operations of these AMA officials and their taskforce.
DAILY GUIDE has in its possession an audio recording in which one of the senior officials said to be the AMA’s Operations Director at the Holy Gardens, was demanding GH¢30.00 from a trader before his seized items would be released to him.
The trader then asked for a reduction since according to him, he did not have that much because his wife had just given birth.
He then bargained with him for a reduction and eventually succeeded in striking a deal for GH¢20.00.
The AMA official is part of an extortion syndicate led by a certain Major, Paa, an Assemblyman, and a taskforce team, who have been extorting money from these traders whenever their goods are impounded.
They are however employing discriminatory tactics in the seizure of items from the traders.
In one of such instances, a known NDC stalwart was allowed to sell ‘waakye’ right on the foot bridge whilst others perceived to be NPP members, continued to be harassed and hounded without cause.
The taskforce team goes out to impound the goods and take them to the AMA offices at the Holy Gardens.
They then dump all the seized items including clothes, bags, shoes and showcases in which traders exhibit their goods, in cubicles and lock them up whilst mobile phones are kept in a drawer in the Operations Director’s office.
When the traders get there, they are directed to go and see either the official or the Major who makes these demands.
Three out of every five traders who spoke to DAILY GUIDE said they have had their goods seized by these AMA officials before, for supposedly selling at unauthorized places and when they go for their goods, the officials make unreasonable demands.
Those who are not able to meet the demands are tossed up and down and continuously asked to go and come until they are able to raise the money requested.
Though the AMA official had earlier denied extorting money from these traders, when DAILY GUIDE called on him on Thursday, he was seen demanding an amount of GH¢10.00 from one of such traders whose mobile phone had been seized and was asked to see him later.
Virtually every 30minutes, some members of the taskforce team brought in seized goods with their owners in tow.
In one of such instances, a trader who sells mobile phones was said to have heaped tons of curses on the women who went to seize their goods.
When he was brought to the office, the official verbally assaulted him for raining curses on the women, asking him whether he does not have sexual relations with women.
A young lady who had her flip-flops (slippers) seized, could not control her tears.
According to her, she was even going home when they seized the goods and therefore could not tell what offense she had committed.
Meanwhile, some of these AMA officials are alleged to be making sexual demands from these traders before their goods are released to them.