AMA Mayor interacts with market associations and queens

Accra, March 15, GNA - Mr Stanley Nii Adjiri Blankson, Chief Executive Officer, Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) on Friday appealed to all market associations to lend massive support to the assembly's initiatives to ensure total development of the city. Mr Blankson noted that too often the Assembly had received condemnation from the public at the launch of new initiatives just to be praised at the end of implementation. Speaking at a reception for market associations and market queens in Accra, the Accra Mayor also asked traders to do away with conflicts and unite.

The reception was also to afford the various market associations and market queens the opportunity to interact with the AMA management with the view to finding solutions to problems confronting them at the various markets.

Mr Blankson cited the rehabilitation of the Agbogbloshie market, the Kwame Nkrumah Circle Pedestrian Shopping Mall and the registration of taxis as the some of the Assembly's initiatives that had paid off. He cited a Ghana Police Service attestation that the taxi registration exercise has helped to reduce armed robbery in the city. He expressed his disappointment at the refusal of some hawkers to relocate to the shopping mall at the Kwame Nkrumah Circle. "Why is it that our brothers and sisters don't want to go to the mall to sell their goods? I just don't understand this?" he asked. He added: "All that I am doing is not to my personal benefit, but rather it is to ensure that Accra gets to a befitting status." Mr Blankson said the AMA was securing funds from the World Bank to put up a new market complex at Salaga market which was sitting on water. He said soil testing at the market indicated that there was water under the land. Mr Blankson bemoaned the spate at which the Tema Station market had been turned into an abode of young female porters who are harassed by men at night.

On the Chemu Lagoon project, the Mayor said government had acquired funds from the French government for the project which was expected to be completed within 18 months. Madam Mercy Needjan, Secretary of the Market Women Association, appealed to the AMA to rotate the schedule of security guards deployed in the market because most of them were exercising too much authority. Besides, the assembly should provide more security guards, she said, stressing that guards at the various markets were inadequate. Madam Needjan suggested to the AMA to involve various market associations on preparatory discussions before new policies, especially levies are introduced to avert conflicts and confusion among traders. Ms Grace Toku, Treasurer at the Pedestrian Shopping Mall, Kwame Nkrumah Circle, appealed to her colleagues, who were still selling on the streets to join them at the mall.