Planning Expert calls for inclusive urban planning to address street vendor issue in Accra

Stephen Biliyitorb Liwur, a Research and Planning Office

A Research and Planning Officer, Stephen Biliyitorb Liwur, has emphasized the need for a more inclusive approach to urban planning in Accra, highlighting that the city’s current system reflects a colonial legacy that ignores the informal economy and the lived realities of the majority.

According to Liwur, about 80% of Ghana’s workforce is employed in the informal sector, and street vendors play a vital role in the city’s economy.

Stephen Biliyitorb Liwur who is a Research and Planning Officer (Chief Assistant) at the Youth Employment Agency of Ghana at the Oforikrom Municipal Assembly, Ashanti Region argues that evicting vendors without offering alternative livelihoods is not only ineffective but also counterproductive.

Liwur suggests four interventions to address the issue:

– Designated vending corridors with sanitation, shelter, and lighting

– Affordable licensing schemes to regularize trading activities

– Vendor cooperatives and unions to co-manage public spaces

– Digital mapping and data collection to track vendor locations and manage congestion

These interventions, he notes, align with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal 11, which aims to make cities inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable. Liwur emphasizes that Accra needs a “strategy of recognition” that acknowledges the informal sector as an integral part of urban life, rather than a campaign of removal.

He called on authorities to engage planners in the country to proffer pragmatic solutions to the perennial problem of evicting traders on Pavements

This he noted will not only protect jobs and revenues but will also boost the country’s local economy

By adopting a planning philosophy grounded in justice and reality, he believes Accra can evolve into a truly modern and inclusive city that recognizes the vital contributions of street vendors to its socio-economic fabric.

Source: Ghana/otecfmghana.com/