The Minority Caucus in Parliament has slammed the Mayor of Kumasi, Richard Ofori Agyemang Boadi, for threatening to publicly flog traders who refuse to vacate unauthorized trading spaces within the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly.
The Mayor’s remarks, made ahead of a planned two-week decongestion exercise, have drawn widespread condemnation, with calls from the public for him to retract his statement and offer an unqualified apology.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, April 16, Ranking Member of the Local Government and Rural Development Committee, Francis Asenso-Boakye, described the comments as dangerous, undemocratic, and unbecoming of a public officer.
“Violence, threats of physical abuse, and the use of fear as a governance tool are unacceptable in any form and have no place in a constitutional democracy like ours,” the statement read.
“The Mayor’s comments are not only reckless but risk undermining public confidence in local governance and may expose the Assembly to potential human rights violations.”
The Minority has urged the Minister for Local Government, Decentralisation and Rural Development, Ahmed Ibrahim, to intervene.
“We call on the Minister to step in urgently and impress upon the Mayor the need to retract his statement and adopt a lawful, respectful, and humane approach to enforcement,” the caucus added.
Despite the backlash, the Mayor has stood by his comments, arguing that the threat of flogging is necessary to restore discipline and cleanliness in Kumasi.
“I don’t believe in using the police for decongestion because I will spend so much on them, and after that, we will get back to the status quo,” he stated.
“Kumasi is engulfed with filth, and I want to deal with it head-on. People are cooking and selling food in the middle of the road—it’s unacceptable.”
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