Traders at the Thursday Market, near ‘London Bridge’ in Cape Coast have appealed to the Metropolitan Assembly to refurbish the facility to befit a proper marketing facility.
Madam Ama Kesewaa, the Market leader, who spoke to the Ghana News Agency in an interview in Cape Coast on Tuesday, said “Yawda Guom” as it is popularly called, is the first port of call for customers who live around the area, including some public servants who cannot go to the Kotokoraba Market for shopping.
According to her the market has been left to its woes without any infrastructural development to uplift its image.
Madam Kesewaa complained that since most of the traders do not have stalls or sheds, they have to defy the weather conditions to sell in order to make a living.
She stated that the market is almost rendered inaccessible because of the undulating landmark and the haphazard nature in which the traders display their goods for sale, leaving only a small route for customers and passers-by to meander through.
Madam Kesewaa said the appalling condition at the market is negatively now affecting daily sales and fuelling indiscipline, thereby robbing the traders of maximum patronage from customers.
She indicated that since most traders display their wares on the ground, coupled with the unsanitary conditions at the place, most customers who used to throng the market no longer do so.
“One of my best customers suddenly stopped coming to buy from me and when I chanced upon her one day and enquired about why she had stopped patronising my goods, she told me emphatically that she was no more comfortable with the conditions at the market.”
A storm drain behind the market also attracts open defecation.
Auntie Ekua Foriwaa, another trader who said she has been trading in the market for the past 13 years, expressed worry about the degenerating conditions at the market, especially during the rainy season.
The traders pleaded with Cape Coast Metropolitan Assembly to come to their aid, saying their very livelihood depend on the market, adding that they pay their income tax regularly and therefore deserve to conduct their activities in a conducive atmosphere.
