A Kumasi-based lawyer is making a case for petty traders to be affected by a decongestion exercise by the metropolitan authorities. Ernest Owusu-Dapaah who is seeking to represent over 3000 affected petty traders says the KMA's approach violates the traders' socio-economic and cultural rights. The KMA has fixed Monday, March 26th for the decongestion exercise, originally planed for January 15. Lawyer Owusu-Dapaah says the city authorities must provide alternative markets before ejecting the traders and warns that the exercise has a potential to create serious social problems. He said it is good that the authorities want to give the city a face-lift, however the exercise must not be an excuse to unduly inconvenient otherwise hard working residents lawfully eking out a living.