A/R: Traders threaten campaign against NPP over abandoned market projects

Traders in the Ashanti region are planning to stage a campaign against the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) ahead of the 2024 general elections.

The traders including the Second-hand Cloth Sellers Association, Santasi Traders Union, Suame Magazine Workers Union, Mamponteng Traders Association, Central Market Traders Association, and the Kumasi Lotto Sellers Association in a statement released on Monday, May 6, 2024, said their decision is as a result of government’s failure to complete market projects in the region.

According to the traders, over the past one year and a half years, construction works on some notable market centres have stalled due to the renegotiation of a loan agreement following the country’s decision to opt for a financial bailout from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

However, the traders also noted they have continuously voiced out their concerns regarding the challenges faced in the line of conducting business but no avail.

The traders have therefore implored the Asantehene to lend his support and influence towards the restoration and completion of all abandoned markets in the region.

‘Furthermore, we extend our plea to the Ashanti Queen Mother, Nana Konadu Yiadom, who holds jurisdiction over all markets in the Ashanti Kingdom. We believe that her background as a former trader will foster a deeper understanding of our plight and inspire her to champion our cause”, they added.

Meanwhile, the traders also mentioned that “If our demand did not yield any result, we the aforementioned traders together with Asanteman Youth Union will join the five days demonstration by our brothers and sisters of Central Market and second-hand cloth sellers to demonstrate against the government”.

See full statement below

PRESS RELEASE BY ALL TRADERS GROUPS IN THE ASHANTI REGION IN COLLABORATION WITH THE GREAT ASANTE MAN YOUTH UNION.

6th May, 2024

Good morning esteemed members of the media,

We, the entirety of traders in the Kumasi and its environs, including the Second-hand Cloth Sellers Association, Santasi Traders Union, Suame Magazine Workers Union, Mamponteng Traders Association, Central Market Traders Association, Kumasi Lotto Sellers Association, have jointly decided to initiate a campaign against the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the upcoming 2024 general election if the government fails to complete all the abandoned markets in the Ashanti Region, including the much-awaited Phase Two of the Kejetia Market.

Over the past one year, six months, progress on these projects has come to a halt due to the renegotiation of a loan agreement following the country’s decision to opt for a financial bailout from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) while other markets including Mamponteng market, Krofrom market and Santasi market has been abandoned since former President Kufuor era.

Presently, we have four major markets left abandoned by the NPP government:

1. Krofrom Market
2. Mamponteng Market
3. Santasi Market
4. Phase Two of the Kejetia Market.

We, the aforementioned traders’ unions within the Ashanti Region, have continuously voiced our concerns regarding the challenges we face in conducting business at our current locations.

The government’s failure to meet completion targets has left us disheartened and frustrated. We fail to comprehend why a project would be initiated only to be abandoned, leaving our fellow traders to sell their goods in unsuitable conditions.

Our livelihoods are greatly affected by adverse weather conditions; each rainfall turns our marketplaces into muddy quagmires, while the scorching sun blankets the area in dust, making it difficult for us to operate effectively.

The Ashanti Region, a stronghold of the NPP, rightfully expects swift development, especially in Kumasi. However, the lack of progress on these crucial projects has left us deeply disappointed.

We, the aforementioned traders’ union, earnestly appeal to His Majesty, Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, once more to intervene on our behalf.

We humbly implore Asantehene to lend his support and influence towards the restoration and completion of all abandoned markets in the region.

Furthermore, we extend our plea to the Ashanti Queen Mother, Nana Konadu Yiadom, who holds jurisdiction over all markets in the Ashanti Kingdom.

We believe that her background as a former trader will foster a deeper understanding of our plight and inspire her to champion our cause.

If our demand did not yield any result, we the aforementioned traders together with Asanteman Youth Union will joined the five days demonstration by our brothers and sisters of Central Market and second hand cloth sellers to demonstrate against the government.

We on this press release urging the contracta company to remove all the barricades from the Kejetia second phase projects before we do it by ourselves because we will not think twice to take it off to do our businesses there if our demand did not heard.

Thank you, Asanteman.
Thank you, Ghana.

Together, let us strive for a better future for all traders and citizens alike.