The newly commissioned Flower Pot Interchange has significantly eased traffic along a stretch of the Spintex Road and improved connectivity to areas such as Tema, East Legon, Teshie, and Cantonments.
But it has brought with it a new challenge: managing hawkers and traders who have long operated along the route.
Barely 24 hours after its opening, a trader was spotted selling coconuts in the median, sparking widespread discussions across traditional and social media platforms.
The Greater Accra Regional Minister, Titus Glover, issued a stern warning against hawking at the interchange and followed up with a visit to the scene.
During the visit, he directed police officers to arrest any hawkers defying his orders.
A viral image of a young woman selling coconuts under the interchange provoked the minister’s ire, leading him to demolish her makeshift table in frustration.
This incident has drawn mixed reactions from the public, with some supporting the minister’s strict stance to maintain order and others criticizing the harshness of his actions.
The Flower Port Interchange, while celebrated for its infrastructural benefits, has inadvertently become a focal point for debates on urban planning, street vending, and governance.
During the commissioning on Tuesday, he said “I don’t want to see kiosks and containers littered all over the place to destroy the beauty of this edifice.”
But after today’s outburst, Mr Titus Glover spoke to JoyNews after his one-man demolition exercise.
“I was going to Dodowa for a programme when I had calls and pictorial evidence of a woman selling a coconut on a truck so quickly I had to rush there to make sure I myself. I went and broke down the table and packed all the cat ears and the banana into the basket and took it away.”
“I’ve talked to the chief executive for assembly that they should put their eyes here. They should position two security guys here,” he said.
Some food vendors close to the scene have vowed to resist any attempts to forcefully evict them from the area without being provided with a permanent place to sell.