STMA relocates traders from Market Circle

The Sekondi Takoradi Metropolitan Assembly (STMA) has succeeded in relocating market women at the Takoradi Market to a temporary site in Takoradi.

The involvement of the police cum Military appears to have worked magic on the movement of the market women without the use of force.

The hitherto stubborn hawkers who had also vowed never to move also joined in unison carting their product out of the market.

The STMA earmarked last Sunday as the deadline for the market women to move to the newly prepared temporary site following the decision to reconstruct the Takoradi Market.

At the initial stages, the market women were adamant to move, defying the deadlines set by the STMA.

They had argued that the newly temporary site was not ready to accommodate them.

The reason, they had asked for audience with the STMA authorities for work to be completed at the new site before they move, but the Assembly failed to grant them audience.

Apparently realising that the market women may not move on their own, the STMA, last week, served notice to station the police and military at the market to force them to move.

The role of the police and military was simply to prevent the market women from selling. However, they would be allowed to move their goods out of the market in the event they were unable to meet the deadline.

And this decision worked, as the market women, at the sight of the presence of the police and military started moving out their goods.

When this reporter visited the market, the shop owners, who had been allocated stores at the new temporary site, were seen carting out their wares.

Those who did not get shops at the new site were also moving out their goods – as to where they were carting them was unknown.

It was a worrying spectacle for those who were not allocated stores at the new temporary prepared site, albeit, they were seen carting their goods out.

Others had to resort to begging landlords who had bigger compounds for a place to keep their goods.

One woman, who sells confectionaries and could not control her tears, eventually found succor at the office of this paper.

This is how worrisome the situation is for a number of market women who have nowhere to cart their goods.

The packing out of the good and carting them to the temporary prepared site came at a cost to the market women.

ABOBOYAA DAY

It was market day for users of tricycles to cash in on the carting of the goods of the market women. Those who could not use services of vehicle had to rely on tricycle users to have their goods carted to their destinations – either home or the new site.

A number of tricycle riders had parked at vantage points waiting for invitations for their service. This culminated in tricycles busily carting goods at a cost to the new site, which is less than a ten minute ride from the old market.

WORRY

Considering the small size of the new site, some market women could not get stores as promised. Those who did not claim they had been made to pay between GH¢1,000 and GH¢2,000 for stores. Despite the payment, they still did not get allocations.

A woman who owned a shop for training of apprentices was heard loud on a local radio station telling how she was denied an allocation despite the payment made.

The STMA has come out to deny that those who made payments were denied allocations.

The STMA gave reasons as to why it could not have taken full cost of the relocation.

Read would be informed in our next edition.

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