Some market women in the Ga East Municipal Assembly of the Greater Accra Region have tasked the Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) of the municipality to make sheds available them as the Assembly embarks on the decongestion exercise or risk losing their votes.
The market women numbering over hundred besieged the ‘Epa Hoa Daben’; the weekly outdoor show on Accra-based Happy FM to bring politics to the doorsteps of the people held at the Dome Market.
The women told the host of the show Kwame Afrifa Mensah how displeased they were with the exercise to relocate them from the streets.
They contend that earlier, officers of the municipal Assembly promised to provide them with sheds so for the Assembly to build stalls in the area and sell it way above their start up capital was unfair.
According to them, because of the high price the Assembly sold the stalls that were promised them to worthy people in the society, forced them to ply their trade on the streets.
They appealed to the Member of Parliament (MP) for the area and the MCE to honour the promises they made to them prior to elections 2016. They further called on the MP to direct the Assembly to halt the operations of ‘Aba Hey’ (the municipal guards) in the market.
They contend that the activities of the municipal guards are dehumanizing. in the market, called for the need to halt it and allow the market women to ply their trade without fear.
On his part; Autie Ama, a member of the Aboakobi Market Women Association Committee, managers of the Dome market gave the assurance that the committee is working to correct the situation of non –availability of sheds in the market.
She said the committee members are aware that many of the women who are sell on the streets of the market thereby blocking the free flow of traffic have sheds in the market but have abandoned them.
She warned that all those who have abandoned their sheds for the streets will forfeit their sheds if they don’t assume it by next week.
Source: Cecil MENSAH