Traders refuse to pay market tolls

Traders at the Half Assini Central market in the Western Region have stopped payment of market tolls to the Jomoro District Assembly since June last year, following inability of the assembly to renovate the facility.

The Vice-chairperson of the Half Assini Traders Association, Nana Awuah Badwo, confirmed this to the Ghana News Agency at Half Assini on Saturday. She said the market constructed by the assembly in the 1990s, had become a death trap and several appeals to the assembly to renovate it yielded no positive results.

Nana Badwo said apart from leakages in the roofing of the stores, the four metal gates of the market had rusted, resulting to stealing of their goods during the night.

Among these, she said the market does not have any security measures and the toilet facilities were not functioning. According to her, somewhere last year, a trader and two buyers were wounded by a flying roofing sheet from the market during a rainstorm.

Nana Badwo said the bad condition of the market had forced most traders to abandon their stalls and sheds and were trading outside the facility. She said the assembly was collecting more than GH¢330.60 monthly as revenue from the traders before they decided to suspend payment of tolls in June 2012.

The Jomoro District Coordinating Director, Mr Abudu Amadu, told GNA that he was aware of the decision of traders and indicated that assembly had no funds to rehabilitate the market.