The four fishmongers who were detained for repeatedly drying fresh herrings on public sidewalks near the Korle Lagoon and dubbed “Keta School Boys” have been freed after paying a GH200 fine apiece.
The fishmongers, Cecilia Klottey, Regina Okinkoi, Okailey Norrah Ayi, and Mercy Tetteh, were detained and their items confiscated by Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) Environmental Health Officers on Friday, August 25.
According to the AMA, the women’s activities were exposing the fish to smoke from automobiles, which might jeopardize the quality and safety of the fish.
Florence Kuukyi, the AMA’s environmental officer, told Citi News that the fishmongers were released after paying the fine and signing an agreement not to dry fish on the street in the future.
It is our responsibility to go out into the community and interact with our clients since there is where we communicate information about best practices in sanitation, food hygiene, waste management, and other areas. So, on Friday, August 25, environmental officers like myself went out to perform our routine house-to-house inspections and instruction. When we returned, we saw that these women were drying herrings on the sidewalk. So we arrested the women and collected and disposed of the fish. So they paid a GH200 fee apiece and were forced to sign an undertaking,” she explained.
The AMA has cautioned fishmongers that drying fish on public sidewalks is a health threat. In addition, the Assembly has asked the public to report any such acts to the AMA.
