Hawkers and traders who sell around the Kaneshie station have been evicted to make way for rehabilitation of the terminal.
The exercise, which is expected to last for at least one month, is posing a myriad of problems for road users and sellers nearby.
Commercial vehicles at the terminal have been moved to various areas in and around the Kaneshie township.
The Secretary of the Kaneshie Station Drivers’ Welfare Union, John Marful-Sau, told Citi News that hawkers would not be allowed to sell at the terminal again after the renovation.
He blamed the poor sanitation on the activities of hawkers, and drivers who blatantly flout the rules.
“The car park was in a dilapidated state, and we appealed to the owners of the car park which is the Accra Markets Limited, and they listened to our appeal, and they are undertaking the rehabilitation work. The construction is expected to last for a month. We are going to educate hawkers not to sell; if they don’t quit we will use force especially those who use fire in the car park, we are not going to tolerate that anymore.”
“We appeal to the general public, especially those who litter at the car park, to stop doing that because that constitutes a problem that causes distraction of the car park, and we also appeal to drivers and other people who urinate in bottles and deposit at the car park to cease otherwise if anybody is caught, that person would not be spared. We are also appealing to all the hawkers around the car park, after the construction work, nobody will be allowed to sell again.”
Mr. Marful-Sau said that patrons of the station should expect an improved terminal, and further called on drivers to religiously pay their station dues to facilitate future rehabilitation projects.
“We also appeal to all drivers to regularly pay their daily toll at the entrance so that the market will get money to facilitate future rehabilitation work,” he added.
Traffic Situation to the Market worsens
The construction of the new Kaneshie station has caused a difficult traffic situation on the roads leading to the markets.
Some taxis and commercial buses are in front of houses near the market.
One driver who spoke to Citi News complained about the slow pace of the construction work.
According to him, the current state of the station has negatively affected his taxi business and given an undue advantage to the buses popularly called ‘trotro’.
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By: Jude Mensa Duncan/citinewsroom.com/Ghana