The busy Opoku Trading Supermarket roundabout, one of the most strategic business enclaves in the Ashanti Regional capital, is fast losing its beauty as persons believed to be mentally challenged have taken over the area.
GardenCityNewsGH observed during a visit to the area that the roundabout and its surroundings have been littered with refuse, used plastics, and human faeces, creating an eyesore and emitting an offensive stench.
Traders operating around the enclave who spoke to GardenCityNewGH expressed deep worry over the development, describing the situation as a threat to both public health and business.
“This place is a busy centre with several banks, offices and shops. Our customers don’t feel comfortable anymore because of the filth and the smell. We are begging the authorities to rise up and take action,” a trader lamented.
Beyond sanitation, some traders also raised security concerns.
According to them, the presence of the vagrants poses a potential security risk to customers transacting business at the various banks around the area.
“Someone may not know, they could be spies in disguise monitoring people who withdraw money from the banks. You can’t tell who is truly sick and who is pretending,” another trader alleged.
The traders are therefore calling on the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA), the Department of Social Welfare, and the Ashanti Regional Coordinating Council to as a matter of urgency evacuate the vagrants, clean the area, and restore the beauty of the Garden City.
They argue that leaving the centre of business activities in such a deplorable state damages the image of Kumasi as the Garden City of West Africa.
