Traders at the Ashaiman Main Market today publicly registered their displeasure over a proposed market expansion project, describing the plan as a direct threat to their livelihoods and survival.
Addressing a press conference at the market, the Market Queen, Madam Leticia Ayaba, said the project had been planned without adequate consultation with the recognised leadership of the market and the traders whose lives depended on it.
Displeasure
“On behalf of the traders of the Ashaiman Main Market, we are officially expressing our displeasure over a proposed market expansion that has been planned without recourse to our very survival as traders and breadwinners,” she stated.
Madam Ayaba stressed that the traders were not opposed to development, insisting that market women had always supported initiatives that enhanced socio-economic growth in Ashaiman.
“We are not against development. As market women, we have consistently supported projects that promote progress and improve the welfare of our people,” she said, adding that the Ashaiman Main Market had for decades contributed significantly to food security, employment creation and revenue generation for the Assembly.
Concern
However, she expressed grave concern over what she described as the unilateral approach adopted by the Ashaiman Municipal Assembly in handling the purported 24-hour economy market project.
According to her, the Municipal Chief Executive (MCE), Hon. Freeman Tsekpo, had failed to officially engage the market women to explain the project.
“To date, the MCE has refused to visit or engage us to explain a project that directly affects our lives. Instead, we were informally informed that our market would be demolished,” she said, describing the situation as “unacceptable and deeply disrespectful.”
Madam Ayaba disclosed that the Member of Parliament for Ashaiman, Hon. Ernest Norgbey, had earlier briefed the market leadership on the intended project, prompting them to raise concerns and engage the Chief of Ashaiman, Nii Annang Adzor, in the interest of peace and lawfulness.
Information
She said information later provided by the MCE indicated that the proposed new market would have only 90 stores and 320 sheds, together with facilities such as a police station, fire service post, hospital, school, pharmacy, shopping mall, abattoir, livestock sales points, warehouses and a car park, all on about three acres of land.
“This revelation was shocking,” she said. “For the record, the Ashaiman Main Market currently has about 1,510 sheds, excluding thousands of traders operating outside the main perimeter. Reducing over 1,500 trading spaces to 320 is not development. It is displacement, deprivation and economic injustice.”
The Market Queen further criticised plans for traders to vacate the market for two to three years during construction, with temporary relocation to Africa Advance near a fuel station.
“That place is unsafe, unconducive and unsuitable for productive trading. Asking us to stay home for years is equivalent to sentencing many traders to poverty,” she said.
According to her, the uncertainty surrounding the project had already affected traders, particularly elderly women who depended on daily sales for survival. “Some of our members have fallen seriously ill upon hearing this news. Some are bedridden,” she added.
Madam Ayaba also raised concerns about the alleged secret registration of selected individuals without the involvement of the market queen and recognised leadership. “This fuels suspicion and erodes trust. There is clearly something not right about this process. We won’t be cowed. Not today, not tomorrow,” she said.
Appeal
She appealed to President John Dramani Mahama to intervene by directing the Assembly to suspend any demolition plans, engage the market women through proper consultations, guarantee that no trader would lose her space after redevelopment and ensure transparency in all registrations and allocations.
“If after two weeks no meaningful resolution is reached, we will have no option but to peacefully march to the Jubilee House to present our grievances,” she warned.
The market queen added that their survival depends on it and wouldn’t relent on their oars to ensure no one denies them their daily bread.
“We are mothers. We are breadwinners. We are law-abiding citizens. All we ask for is justice, respect and inclusion in decisions that affect our lives,” she said.
