Citizens of the La Nkwantanang Madina Municipal Assembly (LaNMMA) have called on the Assembly to constantly engage and sensitize them on the local bye-laws.
This, they noted, will keep them informed about the laws in order to reduce violations, arrests, and imprisonment under the laws. They made this call during a sensitization workshop on the local bye-laws of LaNMMA on Tuesday, 29th June, 2021, at LaNMMA Assembly Hall.
The Workshop
The project which seeks to create an enabling environment for vagrants (the homeless, street hawkers, head porters, vendors, push trucks, market women, other vulnerable groups) to know, claim and exercise their rights and responsibilities in Ghana is supported by the Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA). In furtherance to this, the sensitization program was held with the view to increasing citizens’ awareness on local bye-laws to increase public awareness, monitoring, and engagements on vagrancy laws (laws which tend to affect mainly the poor and the voiceless in Ghana).
Who attended?
Participants that attended the event included the Municipal Chief Executive of the LaNMMA, Madam Jennifer Dede Afagbedzi, the Presiding Member, Hon. Braimah Ismailah Blay, Municipal Education and Health Officer, Joseph Quacoe, the Municipal Development Planning Officer, Frederick Asiamah, and the Municipal Public Health Officer, Daniel Anang Tetteh. They also included representatives of market women, the homeless, beauticians, transport associations, waste contractors, the Ghana Federation of Disability Organization, street hawkers, head porters, truck pushers, vulnerable groups, and the media.
The event afforded officials of LaNMMA the opportunity to explain the various bye-laws that are often violated by citizens and consequences they face. Various examples of arrests, harassments, abuses, fines, and imprisonments were citied during the program. Citizens also voiced their concerns they had in relation to the bye-laws.
Speaking at the workshop, the Municipal Chief Executive of LaNMMA, Jennifer Dede Afagbedzi entreated the ‘vagrants’ to be law-abiding so they do not find themselves on the wrong side of the law. She noted that this “could cripple their already suffering businesses”. She further noted that the municipality can only become a beacon of development through the collective efforts of the Assembly and its people. “The Assembly will thrive when its people are responsible, cooperate and do well economically. Being law-abiding will propel LaNMMA to become a good example for others to emulate,” She said.
Mrs. Dede Afagbedzi lauded CCF and OSIWA for the initiative, which she believed would help solve the seeming disconnection between the Assembly and its people.
For most participants, including Elected Members of LaNMMA, it was the first time they were participating in any sensitization program on the local bye-laws. They noted that lack of adequate knowledge on the laws contribute to high incidences of arrests, harassments, arrests, as well as fines and imprisonments under the laws. They therefore, implored the Assembly to organize regular sensitization programs on radio, and make the bye-laws publicly available on Assembly websites. They called for print-outs of the laws to be distributed to elected Members of the Assembly and Unit Committee Members who must further sensitize citizens in the Electoral Areas and Unit Committees. They noted, “the byelaws should be given to us so that we can educate ourselves,” a unit committee member for the Kotoku Area demanded.
About the Project:
The Decriminalizing Vagrancy Laws & Advocacy (DVLA) project which runs from May 2021 to May 2022, is implemented in twelve (12) Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies in three (3) Regions: Greater Accra, Ashanti, and Central.
About OSIWA:
The Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA), established in 2000, is a grant-making and advocacy organization focused on equality, justice, democratic governance, human rights and knowledge generation. It is part of the global network of Open Society Foundations spread across 37 countries around the world.
About Crime Check Foundation (CCF):
CCF is a crime prevention advocacy organization that uses Life in Prison Documentaries to sensitize the public to the dangers of crime. Our programmes include Crime Prevention Advocacy, Petty Offenders project, Health Check series, Philanthropy (charity series) and Ex-Convict Reintegration project.
