The Mayor of Kumasi, Richard Ofori Agyemang Boadi, has sounded a warning to cattle owners and roadside traders, unveiling a no-nonsense plan to restore law and order in Ghana’s second-largest city.

At a news conference held on Monday, April 14, the Mayor announced that effective May 1, any stray cattle found within the Kumasi metropolis will be seized, slaughtered, and handed over to the Kumasi Central Prison to feed inmates.

“There is another thing I will want you to help me look at. If you have cattle and if they stray in the vicinity of KMA, be assured that from May 1, they will be killed and given to Kumasi Central Prison for food. Especially the route from the airport through to Manhyia Palace,” Mr Boadi declared.

He expressed frustration at the sight of roaming cattle, particularly along high-profile corridors like the stretch from the Kumasi Airport to the Manhyia Palace, which he said tarnishes the city's image in the eyes of visitors.

“I cannot sit for visitors come to Kumasi [and] from the airport to Manhyia, and all they see are faecal matter from cattle,” he lamented.

The directive marks an escalation in efforts to address the long-standing nuisance posed by stray animals in urban Kumasi—a problem that has triggered numerous complaints from residents and commuters alike.

In a related development, the Mayor issued a two-week ultimatum to traders operating on pavements and along the roadsides of the Central Business District (CBD). 

He warned that the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA) will, beginning Wednesday, April 16, launch a major decongestion exercise to reclaim pedestrian walkways and restore order.

According to Mr Boadi, traders who flout this directive risk facing severe sanctions, including, controversially, the threat of being physically beaten.