Ghanaian media personality Bernard Avle took the new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA), Richard Ofori Boadi Agyemang, to task over his pledge to ‘beat’ any trader caught selling in unlawful places.
Speaking on the Citi Breakfast Show on Wednesday, April 16, Avle said the mayor was wrong to make that threat because lawlessness must not be tolerated in a democracy.
According to him, once it is not lawful to assault people for selling on the pavement or by roadsides, the mayor cannot take such an action. Avle also pushed back at critics saying his stance means he’s endorsing lawlessness.
“Why are we making it seem as if saying that a man should not beat people on-site means we endorse lawlessness,” Avle queried. “We need to have nuance. The fact that me and Sky are saying that the the the mayor is wrong, does not mean we endorse lawlessness.”
Avle added that in Singapore, for instance, there is a law where engaging in certain actions can get you flogged. Hence, ‘lashing’ people there is lawful, but once that law is not in Ghana, we should not endorse a public official engaging in that.
He added that people are comfortable speaking ill of traders fighting for their livelihoods because they have no voices in the media.
“Traders don’t have voice. Market women don’t have voice. A lot of the people who are victims of this type of thing don’t have voice. [Traders] don’t have much time to even text a radio station. So you can sit in your house and say ‘Ghanaians are lawless’ so let’s beat them. May it not happen to you,” he said.
Avle added that he believes the mayor misspoke in his zeal to set a tone for his new administration. He said the fact he already withdrew the statement indicates he realizes his misstep and is ready to do the right thing.
The new mayor of Kumasi stole headlines during a press conference in the city on Tuesday, April 15, during which he promised that traders caught selling in unauthorized spaces would not be arrested but flogged on sight.
