Kantamanto Traders Scramble Among Themselves to Shake President John Mahama's Hand

• Victims of the Kantamanto fire have met with President John Dramani Mahama to provide more details on the devastating incident
• The meeting was held in one of the conference rooms at the Accra International Conference Centre on Monday, January 13, 2025
• At the end of the meeting, the traders were seen in a viral TikTok video tussling among themselves to shake hands with Mahama

President John Dramani Mahama met with the leaders of the Kantamanto market traders at the Accra International Conference Centre (AICC).

The president invited the traders to brief him on the unfortunate fire that started at dawn on January 2, 2024, and destroyed several shops.

During the meeting, President Mahama assured the traders of his commitment to provide them with the needed support to help them get back on their feet.

He also said the various security agencies have been tasked to put measures in place to protect markets across the country and avoid a reoccurrence of the unfortunate incident.

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"We all heard the sad news of what happened. I think Kantamanto is a household name here in Ghana. There's no person in Ghana who hasn't heard about Kantamanto markets. So is a very important hub for trading in Ghana. It supplies goods to the whole country, and so when we heard the news, it came as quite a shock," he said.

At the end of the dialogue, the Kantamantor market traders and the Ghanaian President came out of the conference room at the AICC for a group photo.

The traders, who had crowded the president at the forecourt of the AICC, looked excited to have the sitting leader reach out to them to have first-hand knowledge about the inferno that ruined their lives and businesses.

A video sighted by YEN.com.gh captured the traders scrambling among themselves to shake hands with President Mahama.

Reactions to the traders' meeting with Mahama

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Many Ghanaians have reacted to the video of President Mahama's meeting with the Kantamanto market traders.

YEN.com.gh has compiled a few of their reactions.

@Yolex said:

"The security of the president needs to get serious, not all of them like him so please get serious with his protection."

@Adam Wahabu replied:

"A good leader don't need a security."

@90🇨🇦 also said:

"You have to be happy because for the past 8 years Ghana don’t have a human being to call a president but now we have."

@Jessy commented:

"Some of u should go and sit down because u said Mahama and the NDC set kantamanto on fire for a purpose. Now u want to shake and take picture with him by force."

@midnight prayer also commented:

"Some of these traders should be ashamed of themselves, after accusing him and the NDC of masterminding the burning of Katamanto."

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@BhimBwoy wrote:

"JM is an angel .As soon as u shake hands with him u will be remembered in heaven."

Kantamanto Traders starting to bounce back

Meanwhile, YEN.com.gh reported previously that victims of the Kantamanto market fire are bouncing back barely a week after the inferno.

The devastating fire outbreak ravaged over 3,000 shops, containing goods worth thousands of cedis, with one person reportedly killed.

The traders were seen building their shops again, not wanting to wait for the investigation into the cause of the fire to be concluded.

Proofread by Bruce Douglas, senior copy editor at YEN.com.gh

Source: YEN.com.gh