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Despite witnessing the construction of a number of malls, housing units, office spaces, roads, parking lots and many more, markets in the city of Accra and its suburbs remain in deplorable state.
Many of the markets have not seen any major upgrading or rehabilitation in years.
This does not augur well for the markets because traders say the malls have become very attractive shopping places for the people in Accra.
Traders in the markets are disappointed that city authorities have failed to do the needful.
Markets are integral to the economy of Ghana.
But, many of the markets continue to grapple with inadequate waste management systems, poor drainage systems, lack of vehicular access to the market, lack of parking areas for vehicles, poor sanitation conditions, wooden structures for construction of sheds and stalls as well as intermittent fire outbreaks among others.
The Finder went around some of the markets in Accra and it was an eyesore as many of the major markets are nothing to write home about, with many of them bursting at the seams with uncollected refuse, smelly and choked gutters, with traders selling their wares openly without bothering to keep them from the buzzing flies and scorching sun.
Madina Market
When The Finder visited the Madina Market, the gutters were full of plastic waste.
Thought the market was generally organised due to the architecture, there were portions of the market, especially in the lorry station, which were muddy and slick.
Some traders who spoke to this paper complained about the muddy nature of sections of the market.
According to them, the population of traders was now more than the number the market was built to accommodate, meaning that traders now sell at areas not designated for them.
Uncovered wares displayed on the floor
Traders were spotted with their uncovered wares displayed on the floor, hailing new custom while putting the potential buyer at risk.
A trader, Rashida Awal, told The Finder that “we had made several complaints about the muddy and generally unkempt nature of the market, all to no avail, despite several assurances from the authorities to come and fix our part of the market for us. When it rains, this place becomes unbearable. So we want them to come and fix our road and provide us with containers.”
Another trader, Gifty Yeboah, told The Finder that “we [traders and drivers] occasionally contribute GH?10 each to have the market covered with aggregate but it doesn’t last. Within a few weeks the aggregate is swept away, especially when it is raining.”
A trader who gave her name as Abena Dorcas, admitted that the muddy nature of the market was a cause for concern.
She appealed to government to address the problem of mud in the market. She also complained of harassment by the city guards, whom she said had been hounding them incessantly.
Dome Market
At the Dome Market, the situation was even worse as the entire market was engulfed in mud and was unlit.
Traders at the Dome market called on government to rehabilitate the decades old market.
Poor sales due to deplorable state of the market
Upon a visit to the market by The Finder, the traders complained about the slushy nature of the market, which according to them has led to poor sales.
One of the traders, Veronica Awudi, in an interview told The Finder that their only desire was to see the market properly constructed and put into proper shape in order to draw more customers.
According to her, the current muddy state of the market puts off potential customers, especially when it rains.
She said that though they were promised in 2018 that the market would see a face-lift in the first month of this year, they have seen no work done to improve their working and living conditions.
She also told this paper that there had been a recent meeting between the market leaders and the authorities on improving the state of the market, with further assurances that the market would see some improvement work done.
Another trader, Veronica Kpeglah, said it was imperative that the market was reconstructed because once it rains, the market becomes inaccessible and impassable.
She said that, “the current state of the market does not befit a market of the stature of Dome. Once this work is done, I’m certain that there will be an increase in patronage because as things are now, even patronage is affected by the way the market currently is.”
Another trader Anna Agyeiwaa, who spoke to The Finder echoed similar sentiments as her colleagues.
She appealed to the authorities to quickly fulfill their promise of giving the market a facelift, as according to her, it would catalyse the patronage from customers, as the current muddy nature of the market disgusts and puts off many of their patrons.
A fishmonger and leader of the fishmongers association, Ruth Nyarkoa, corroborated the story of the many traders.
She however told The Finder that a delegation from government had come to assure them that renovation works would begin in earnest at the end of August.
She also lamented the lack of security in the market. According to her, “the market is huge, and there are not enough security personnel in the market. This has led to a recent spike in the incidents of theft.”
Stealing due to poor security
She recounted a litany of break-ins and thefts which had occurred in the past weeks due to the inability of the market security to cover the market adequately.”
She therefore made a passionate strongly to the authorities to provide them with extra security measures to ensure a decline in the thefts which have plagued the market women.
Market Queen at the Dome Market, Madam Felicia Karley Amoo, acknowledged the muddy state of the market and said her outfit had been in consultation with the authorities regarding the situation.
She actually told this paper that the market had actually experienced an improvement in its mud situation as it was far worse in times past.
According to her, “the president has come to seek our opinion on the kind of market we want built and we’ve made it known to him what we want. I have also been in touch with the authorities at the Municipal Assembly and they have given us assurance of the work.”
She also corroborated the traders’ concerns about thievery, which she prayed the authorities to take a good look at, since the traders do not have any form of insurances, as they have had very bad experiences with insurance companies in the past, who have eloped with their savings.
She also called on the authorities to provide adequate lighting in the market at night to ensure that the activities of these thieves are curtailed.
Achimota Market
The situation at the Achimota Market was a peculiar one, as the leaders in the market told The Finder that unlike other markets which had been constructed with state funds, they had had to build the market with their own contributions.
In spite of this, they still pay tolls to the Accra Metropolitan Authority (AMA), which they accused of having neglected the market.
Market women perform security duties
Secretary to the Achimota Market Women’s Association, Peggy Nortey, in a conversation with The Finder said, “We built this market ourselves. We got a contractor to build it for us. He did not even complete the project.
Everything in this market was done by us. We have nothing in this market. We have no security, cleaning staff, nothing. From when we had one city authority till now that it’s been divided. We’ve petitioned several times with no results. The women have to now perform security duties. Yet, we pay tolls. Even recently, the security we hired to look after us threatened to lay down their tolls if we didn’t increase their pay.”
The Market Queen at the Achimota Market, Grace Okine, told this paper that in spite of the tolls and taxes the market women pay, there is no direct intervention by the city authority. This, despite several meetings they have had with the authorities over the last decade.
“We always go to meetings and tell them that we don’t have watchmen or sweepers. All they do is assure as these services will be provided. It’s been more than 10 years now. Before then, they had brought us a watchman, but now we have neither watchmen nor sweepers.
“We sweep ourselves, and pay the rubbish collectors to come for it. So we are paying double.”
She pointed out that the market does not belong to the AMA, “but if they are collecting our tolls, they should provide us with what we need. We are also supposed to get a gate, and we’ve informed them, but to no avail.”
