“No trader in the existing markets will lose their trading space after the markets reconstruction were completed”, Hon. Alfred Okoe Vanderpuije assured traders when he met with them in Accra.
The traders drawn from some traditional markets within the Metropolis were being sensitized on the reconstruction of their markets which was to be done under the Public Private Partnership (PPP) program by the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA).
The projects with a total cost of over $800 million will see the reconstruction of the Salaga, Tuesday, London, Mallam Atta, Mallam, 31st December and its Annex, Kwasiadwaso, and the Kantamanto markets. The Accra Community Centre would be reconstructed into a Convention Center while the Rawlings Park would be reconstructed into a multi-purpose facility. The City Corner would be developed into a multi-storeyed apartments to serve as residential facilities for the staff of the Assembly.
The two day sensitization program saw traders from the above mentioned markets within the AMA was to inform the traders on the developments made so far by the Assembly and Government to provide them with facilities that will be conducive for their trading activities. In addressing them, the Mayor allayed their fears that when such projects are undertaken, the existing traders in the markets normally lose their trading spaces since they may not be having the amounts charged as payment for the stalls or stores.
The traders were also concerned about the continuation of the project in case he was no more the Mayor of Accra which they know will happen since he was going to stand as a Member of Parliament for the Ablekuma South Constituency. They were also concerned about the security of their tenure in the market if it was completed and the Mayor was no more at the AMA so, they will like him to give them a kind of document that will serve as security to their trading spaces.
He assured them that, they were not to worry because these projects were projects that the president will like to see materialized and as such, he also need their support for these projects to become a reality. In his presentation, he outlined the facilities that would be contained in the markets as; police and fire service posts, crèche for children of the traders, clinics, and office spaces which when rented out will pay for the cost of the reconstruction so that they the traders will not be paying much for their stalls and stores. “These markets are for our traders. We are not building it based on any financial interest but in the interest of the people of Accra and especially, you the traders”, he said.
He said, “International tendering for bids have already being published in the dailies and foreign and local investors have already began flocking to the AMA to make enquiries and so I am very optimistic that latest by July this year, the constructions will commence”. For timelines he said, the project will span over a seven year period but they would be done in phases so as not to deny the traders access to spaces for their trading activities.
Continuing he said, to promote hygienic conditions in the market, waste management facilities would be included in the construction, adequate parking spaces would also be provided and all other facilities that will make the markets fit for a Millennium City like Accra.
Currently, number of traders in the market are over 11,800 but when the markets are completed they will accommodate over 25,000 traders and that will lead to the elimination of “Aaba Eei”, meaning, they are coming, a nick name for the Metro Task Force personnel who are to ensure that the traders do not occupy pavements and other open spaces for trading activities. Furthermore, the reconstruction of these markets will create over 30,000 jobs for artisans, engineers and other unskilled labor.
The president of the Accra Markets Association, Madam Mercy Needjan while presenting a list of occupants of all the markets earmarked to be reconstructed thanked the Mayor on behalf of the traders and said, “though the list is not exhaustive due to the fact that some of the stalls are empty because the owners have not been identified but she was optimistic that they will definitely come to claim their stalls and sheds so, they have left those spaces blank and those registered have been done in a way that reflects the composition of the registered occupants as tenants or owners”.
This sensitization is the third time the traders and chiefs within the AMA have been met for such discussions. The earlier meetings were to solicit the views of the traders as to how they will like the reconstructed markets to be like and the kind of facilities they will like included in them. When the new designs were unveiled, there were signs of satisfaction on the faces of the traders as the new designs have included all of their proposals.
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