Kumasi City Market management asked to step aside amid trader complaints

The Ashanti Regional Coordinating Council (ARCC) has ordered the management of Kumasi City Market (Kejetia) to step aside to allow investigations into concerns raised by traders.

This directive follows a petition from trader unions to the Ashanti Regional Minister, urging intervention to ensure the efficient management of the market.

Traders cited extortion and poor management as key challenges affecting their businesses.

According to Michael Adu Gyamfi, Secretary of the Kumasi City Market Traders Union, persistent issues such as unpaid electricity bills, the lack of individual meters, and the delayed reconstruction of a fire-damaged section of the market have made trading conditions unbearable.

“For years, we have been grappling with power cuts by the Electricity Company of Ghana due to debts owed by the facility. As traders, we’ve been paying our bills, yet the market remains in debt. Our calls for individual meters have been ignored. It’s been over a year since part of the market was gutted by fire, but reconstruction has not begun. Management seems unconcerned about our demands,” Gyamfi stated when the group met the Regional Minister.

Days after receiving the petition, the Regional Coordinating Council formed an Interim Management Committee (IMC) to oversee the market’s operations while investigations proceed.

In a statement signed by the Ashanti Regional Minister, Dr. Frank Amoakohene, the ARCC acknowledged multiple petitions from traders and other stakeholders regarding market management.

“The Regional Coordinating Council has received a number of petitions from traders and other stakeholders concerning the management of the market. The RCC has decided that the current management of Kumasi City Market should step aside to allow for the establishment of an Interim Management Committee. This decision aims to facilitate an investigation into the allegations and verify their authenticity,” the statement read.

The directive follows a series of meetings between the market’s management, the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA), and the Regional Minister, during which issues concerning sanitation, utility bills, and general market services were discussed.

The establishment of the IMC is expected to bring stability and transparency to the market’s operations while addressing traders’ grievances.

The post Kumasi City Market management asked to step aside amid trader complaints first appeared on 3News.

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