Yam Sellers Association of Okaishie Market in the Greater Accra Region is appealing to the President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to immediately call the Metro Director of the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA), Mr Laryea Lamptey to order or face a naked demonstration.
According to the pro-New Patriotic Party (NPP) supporters, Mr Lamptey and his men have chased them out of where they used to sell their products a development that has made them lost millions of Ghana Cedis.
Mrs Dorcas Ofori, the leader of the association narrating their ordeal to the DAILY HERITAGE on Friday said that, two weeks ago, Mr Lamptey and his men stormed the market and forcibly ejected them, because government wants to use the place for development.
She added that, two days after their eviction, the AMA ordered the fencing of the place which had forced them to now do their business on the banks of the roads putting their lives at the mercy of moving vehicles.
Mrs Ofori said the women secured the area 16 years ago when the place was used as a refuse dump adding that “We organised ourselves and contributed money to hire garbage collectors and ever since we have being selling here until our unfortunate eviction.”
She revealed that their yams are currently rotten because there is no space to sell their products and that prospective buyers are afraid to stand on the edge of the road to access their products.
“We have taken loans from banks to buy these yams thinking that we will make some good sales in the coming Christmas to settle our loans at the banks. But per what is happen now, some of us will end up in court,” she stated.
The leader added that after the incident, a delegation went to the Mayor’s office where they met Mr Lamptey but e vowed not to release the place to the women to seller their yams.
She said the Mayor then promised to visit the site last week to see things for himself but as “I speak to you, he has since not come.”
Mrs Ofori said the women have resolved that if the Mayor fails to mediate over the issue, they would be left with no other option than to demonstrate nakedly to the government to register their protest.
One of the market women, Mrs Evelyn Asare said the women are suffering these because they are perceived at the assembly as supporters of the ruling government.
She admitted openly that with all the campaigns the women did for the NPP during 2016 election, “our reward is to lose our trade to the AMA at a time where there is no ‘aabaiyei’?”
All attempt made by the DAILY HERITAGE to speak to the AMA Metro Director, Mr Lamptey proved futile including a visit to his office last Friday just to meet his absence.
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