Order KMA, Contracta to halt demolition of our shops – Kumasi traders pray High Court

Some aggrieved traders at the Kumasi Central Market are praying the High Court to halt an ongoing demolition exercise and the commencement of work on the second phase of the Kumasi Central Market Redevelopment Project.

This was contained in a suit filed by lawyers on behalf of the individuals who trade in goods ranging from bags, shoes, jewelleries, cosmetics, among others.

Joined in the suit are the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA) and Contracta Engineering, the construction firm working on the project.

They are trying to stop the demolition of over 1,500 shops at the trading hub, “having inherited from our deceased relatives”.

The traders maintain their action is in response to failed attempts to get the KMA to provide them with space at the newly built Kejetia Market to pave way for the commencement of the second phase of the Kumasi Central Market Redevelopment Project.

Court documents show that the KMA having collected rent from them “later called to cancel the grant of stores and asked us to continue operating from our current market place of business until they find an alternative market place for us. Till date the monies collected from us have not been refunded by the Respondent [KMA] after the failed promise”.

The group which has formed the Kumasi City Market Union accused the KMA of acting in bad faith.

“We believe our fundamental human rights have been trumpled upon by the KMA… We have been sent home without a single allocation and the KMA is not doing anything about it. We have done a lot of stakeholder consultations to resolve this issue but it appears city authorities are taking us for a ride”, Secretary of the Union, Richard Boamah said in an interview with dailymailgh.com.

“KMA is a bigger machinery than we are and how they communicate their issues worsen our plight and with this situation at hand we thought it wise that an honourable court will put this matter to rest”, he added.

The Ashanti Regional Coordinating Council recently gave the traders up to midnight of March 13 to relocate.

With this new development it appears Ghana may lose a whopping €253 million loan agreement on the project if authorities do not take steps to resolve the impasse.