Plan Demo For Wednesday
By Gifty Boateng
Traders at Kasoa whose sheds were pulled down for a market redevelopment project have accused authorities of reneging on a promise to prioritise them in the allocation of the newly constructed stores.
Their anger follows reports that the Awutu Senya East Municipal Assembly has bypassed the original occupants and handed the completed shops to wealthy business tycoons.
The aggrieved traders have, accordingly, fixed a massive demonstration for Wednesday, November 11, to register their displeasure with the Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) and the government.
Although the market has been beautifully completed, the traders say their intelligence indicates that the entire shops have been allocated to “worthy” businessmen and women, leaving not a single original trader with a store.
President of the Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA) for Kasoa, Samson Mensah Anobil himself a former chairman of the Petty Traders Association of Kasoa confirmed the rumours in an interview with the New Republic newspaper.
“Yes, that’s exactly what is going on. We’ve also heard that on the 15th they will commission it. As we speak, the shop is almost completed, but not a single trader here is having a shop there. That’s the problem we are facing,” he said.
“If you go to the workers, they will tell you there is no shop. People have rented them all.”
Anobil said the association has met the MCE not less than five times over the issue. Last Friday, the MCE gave them notice to meet him at his office, and on the morning of the interview, the traders gathered and went to his office, only to be told he was in another meeting. No new date was fixed.
He recounted that in April this year, the Assembly descended on the market without any written undertaking, deploying more than 400 security personnel police, immigration and fire service officers to force traders out at short notice.
“Even if it was Easter Monday, a holiday, they came to us with security men… Everybody should pack. People packed in a hurry, and some people’s containers were destroyed. There was no agreement, no paperwork,” he said.
“When we later went to the MCE and asked what our portion was in the shops being built, he told us he was building the shops for us. We have waited and waited, but not any of us can tell you with hope that this is my shop or I have a shop there.”
Anobil said the traders are gearing up for the Wednesday protest, during which they will present a petition to the MCE.
“We cannot say we are going to stop the commissioning, but when we get to the bridge, we will cross it. We are not here to fight him, but we have to get our share. We are fighting for our share. So if he tells us something better, we don’t have to do that demonstration,” he stated.
A patron of the Kasoa Traders Association, Samuel Ofosu, told the media that the market is slated to be opened on November 15 a date they strongly object to.
“Before the demolishing exercise of the old market, we were assured that we would be prioritised before new people were considered,” he said, adding that no discussion or engagement has taken place since the completion of the project, despite reports that the facility will be commissioned on November 15.
The traders insist the reports are true, alleging that the stores were allocated without any consideration for their interests, contrary to earlier promises.
Like a playbook, the traders had protested the decision to demolish their market earlier this year when the project was about to begin, citing similar disappointments at other market projects across the country.
What is playing out at Kasoa is what previously informed traders in several markets nationwide not to agree to have their sheds demolished for the government’s 24-Hour Market initiative.
They marched to the Trade Ministry to present their concerns and prevail on the Minister to intervene. Despite that public action, the market was still razed to the ground, with assurances that they would be prioritised.
Efforts to reach the MCE, Seth Sabah Setwornoo-Banini, for his side of the story proved futile, as his AirtelTigo line was switched off.