Scores of traders and some homeless individuals have turned the surroundings of the National Theatre into a business centre and a place of abode.
The hawkers, who mostly sell to commuters in the traffic light intersection in front of the Theatre, occupy the space until evening, with the homeless making sides of the Theatre and the Afua Sutherland Children’s Park, a ‘home’.
The development, coupled with the seeming neglect of the Theatre’s surroundings, has given the place an unattractive appearance.
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The area houses some major hotels, including the Movenpick Ambassador Hotel and the Accra City Hotel, normally booked for international conferences.
The Cedi House, British Council, Ecobank Transnational Incorporated and the African Trade House, which houses both Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat, and Ghana EXIM Bank, are all situated there.
The Theatre is near the Ministries enclave, where many government ministries, departments and agencies are located.
Madam Emmy Frimpong, the Executive Director of the National Theatre, in an interview with the GNA, said the maintenance of the surroundings was the responsibility of the local Assembly.
She said efforts to have them (hawkers and homeless) to leave the area had been unsuccessful.
When contacted, the Public Relations Office of the Korley Klottey Municipal Assembly said the Assembly had engaged the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection to address the situation to no avail.
The National Theatre was established in 1992 to spearhead the theatre movement of Ghana and provide the needed multi-functional venue for concerts, dance, drama and musical performances, screen plays, exhibitions, and unique events.
The facility, which occupies an 11,896 square meters, is located at the Independence Avenue and Liberia Road intersection.
The Liberation Road is one of the busiest roads in Accra central connecting other parts of the national capital.
Madam Eunice Amankwah, a receptionist in one of the Ministries, described the spectacle as an eyesore. “This is a terribly busy place. A lot of dignitaries and ordinary people use the road in front of the Theatre, so these traders and homeless people are not supposed to be here at all. Authorities of the Theatre and the Clean Ghana Authorities must do something about it. It is an eyesore,” she said.
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John Amedo, a passerby, said the authorities must address the situation in time
Source: GNA.
