Sekondi Market Collapse Sparks Calls on Government to Fulfil Promise to Redevelop the Facility
- Traders at the deteriorating Sekondi Market and the Member of Parliament for Sekondi urge the government to honour its promise
- Sekondi traders express deep frustration over the delay in the market’s reconstruction after they were promised urgent rebuilding
- NDC Sekondi Constituency Organiser says the Sekondi MP will meet with the Finance Minister next week over the market project
The recent collapse of parts of the Sekondi Market has sparked urgent calls from traders and local officials for the government to fulfil its promise to redevelop the facility.
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Traders at the deteriorating market, together with the Member of Parliament for Sekondi, Blay Nyamekye Armah, are urging the government to honour its campaign promise to redevelop the market into a modern facility.
On 6 October, a female trader lost her life and another was injured, intensifying calls for immediate action.
Armah, in a video, passionately appealed to President John Dramani Mahama and the Minister for Finance, Cassiel Ato Forson, to prioritise the redevelopment of the market to prevent further casualties and improve trading conditions.
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“H.E. President Mahama and Hon. Ato Forson, please have mercy on our market women, our mothers, who have suffered for 32 years. H.E. President John Dramani Mahama, we are crying out for mercy; show us compassion. Sekondi is crying out. H.E. President Mahama, please come and rebuild our market for us,” he said.
He also appealed to the Vice President, Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang, saying:
“People are dying, crying, and getting injured. Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang, we know you are a mother; we know that through you, you can speak to the President to fulfil his campaign promise. I’m pleading in the name of God. This market is not fit for human habitation.”
In an interview, some traders expressed deep frustration over the delay and called for immediate government intervention to ensure their safety and restore confidence in the market’s future.
They are pleading with the government to come to their aid because they are in debt, and they need to trade to pay off what they owe. The government should immediately redevelop the market for them. Adwoa Nkansah, a tomato seller, said.
YEN.com.gh sources at the Public Relations Office of the Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolitan Assembly said the Metropolitan Chief Executive had directed the Works Department to demolish the market after assessing its poor state.
“When we went to monitor the clean-up on Saturday, we saw the situation, and the MCE immediately directed the Works Department to demolish it. When the officers arrived, the women pleaded for it to be left so they could continue trading, and not long after the officers left, the collapse happened,” the source stated.
In an interview with the NDC Sekondi Constituency Organiser, Hashim Nuhu Tanko, he expressed optimism that the Ministry of Finance would include the market’s reconstruction in the next budget if the Member of Parliament presents a strong case during his meeting with the Finance Minister, Cassiel Ato Forson.
Tanko said the MP would be going to Accra next week to meet the Finance Minister.. When he’s given an audience, he will make a strong case to ensure the reconstruction of the market is captured in the next budget.
Source: Getty Images
Regional minister visits Sekondi European Town fire
YEN.com.gh earlier reported that the Western Regional Minister, Joseph Nelson, led a government delegation to the scene of the 9 September fire that gutted the European Town Railway area in Sekondi-Takoradi.
The fire is believed to have destroyed about 50 makeshift homes and a church, worsening the hardships faced by residents. The minister assured the affected victims that he would help bring European Town back to its feet.
Source: YEN.com.gh
