Traders at the Shukura Market in the Ablekuma Central Municipality of the Greater Accra Region have appealed to the government to expedite the construction of the local market and relocate them from the Shukura-Zamrama Road.
The traders said their current location on the Shukura to Zamrama road is unsafe because motor riders still use the stretch despite the closure of the road by the assembly for them to ply their trade temporary.
They added that business has also stalled.
Anita Seidu is a trader, and she wants authorities to expedite action in the completion of the market.
“We are not happy selling on the road. Business has been slow ever since we were moved here. Cars can’t come here; customers too do not come, so we will be happy that they complete the market for us or else motor riders will continually insult us and hit us every day,” one of the traders appealed.
In September 2020, government cut sod for the construction of a modern market at Shukura.
The traders who were already plying their trade where the new market is to be constructed were relocated to the Shukura to Zamrama Line road to pave way for construction work to begin.
As a temporary measure, makeshift sheds were erected on the road to accommodate these traders.
However, the project which was expected to be completed in less than 5 months has still not been completed till date.
According to the General Secretary of the Shukura local market, Victoria Nunu calls to the authorities to finish the project have proven futile.
“This August will be two years since they came to demolish our old market, promising us that they will construct a new one in the next three months. There was a sod-cutting ceremony, and they decided to bring us on the road to ply our trade temporarily. When the three-month deadline was due, several calls on authorities to give us an update proved futile”.
The new market is being funded by the Coastal Development Authority (CODA) under the Infrastructure for Poverty Eradication Programme (IPEP) of the Ministry of Special Development Initiatives (MSDI).
But what may account for the delay?
Kingsley Kofi Karikari Bondzie is the Deputy Chief Executive Officer of CODA and he attributed it to the change in the structure of the market.
“In 2020, we gave out a contract to Jack Freddy’s Construction Company Limited to execute a 40 open shared market over there. In the middle of it, the people saw that just an open shared will block that space. So, we should convert it to a 40 open shared market over there. It started as just an open shared market because when you look at the nature of activities done over there, these are petty traders.”
“So that was the main idea, but when we look at the issue, the is a challenge with land. So, we decided to do a 48-lockable store. We call it a medium-sized market, and a medium-sized market will also have an open market in addition to it.”
He indicated that the plans are far advanced, with the contractor returning to site to complete the project.
He added that, the market will be completed by the end of the year.
“If all the major stakeholders come together, the contractor should be able to finish this by the end of this year. So, it’s not going to be straightforward. I know their expectations are high. It is not out of place because I have seen where they are currently plying their trade. There are challenges. We plead with them to exercise patience as we also move in to make sure the contractor is back on-site with the block-work”.