An In-Depth Study of Activities of Street Traders and its Impact on Metropolitan Management and Sustainable Development: A Case Study of Kumasi Metropolis.

Abstract

This research was intended to assess the impact of street trading or hawking in the Kumasi Metropolis in the Ashanti Region of Ghana. The study adopted a simple random sampling technique to select a cross section of street traders and some authorities in Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA). Questionnaires were administered to them to solicit their views on how they assess the impact of the menace of street trading and improper construction of structures in the business centre of Kumasi metropolis. Some divergent revelations came out of the study. The city authorities accused traders and squatters of not being law abiding and uncooperative to ensure proper layout and management of the city. On the other hand, the traders and squatters put the blame on city authorities for lacking vision and not being sensitive to the plight of the ordinary person in their day to day management of the metropolis. It was revealed that decongesting the Kumasi Metropolis to ensure sustainable management of the city has been and will continue to be a big challenge for KMA owing to lack of needed support from the political and traditional leaders.