Accra Metropolitan Environmental Health officers who embarked on routine environmental education at Agbogbloshie Yam Market in Accra, were attacked and chased out of the place.

The officers, led by the Metro Environmental Health Director, Madam Florence Kuukyi, were there on Wednesday, to educate traders on how to maintain effective hygiene in the market.

During their interaction with the traders, they saw that some of them had displayed vegetables on pallets covering filthy gutters on the main road, which is contrary to the AMA’s environmental by-laws. So she quickly ordered the AMA taskforce to arrest the offenders and seize their displayed food stuffs.

However, this did not go down well with the offenders, thus a fierce confrontation broke out between members of the taskforce and the traders.

In the process, the angry traders overpowered the taskforce and freed the boy who was under arrest.

The situation attracted other young men who came to loot the food stuffs that were seized and packed in one of the AMA vehicles.

Despite the intervention of an MTTD Police officer, the volatile situation brought the programme to a momentary halt, but Madam Florence Kuukyi and her colleague, Mr Joseph Asitanga later reorganized themselves to carry on the program.

Somehow, the news of the fracas got to the Accra Mayor, Madam Elizabeth Sackey who rushed to scene to bring the situation under control.

The Mayor, upon seeing how the traders had displayed food stuffs at unhygienic places, ordered their arrest, hence 13 of them were arrested.

Concerning the attack on her environmental health officers, she described it as unfortunate.

 She said “these people are fond of doing that, either they attack you or they throw stones at you and others and warned them to desist from it. If they have gone to the extent of fighting my officers, it tells you the next time it will be me and I will not take it lightly and that is there should be an action now,” said Madam Elizabeth Sackey.

She announced that her next plan is to bring the Police to the market to tow all the cars that have been parked on the main road.

Here are more photos from the exercise: