- “When you have ten acres of land to sell onions and you are telling me you are not going to move, that is the joke of the century…”
Henry Quartey, the Greater Accra Regional Minister, says he will not relent in his efforts to move traders engaged in “bulk breaking” activities in and around the Central Business District (CBD) of Accra to Adjen Kotoku come 1 July 2021.
He said the chiefs of Adjen Kotoku had promised to provide about ten acres of land to expand the market to accommodate as many traders as possible.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with Beatrice Adu on The Big Bulletin, Quartey said, “When you have tenacres of land to sell onions and you are telling me you are not going to move, that is the joke of the century …
“Yesterday, they [traders] came and said they were not moving and I’m told that this morning [Wednesday 26 May] they’ve had a press conference that they will resist it. I await for 1 July because we shall move them. The land doesn’t belong to them, the land is for government and the government has got a purpose for the land.
“We have made an alternative arrangement for them to go and sell and do business and they don’t want to go? This has been going on for over 20 years. This is the time; we shall move them on 1 July.”
Deadline
At an earlier meeting with the leaders of some onion sellers’ associations, Quartey said that after the deadline, the Greater Accra Regional Co-ordinating Council (GARCC), together with a security task force, will move into full gear on a wholesale decongestion exercise to remove all structures within their trading areas.
The leaders were from the Progressive Co-operative Onion Farmers’ and Traders’ Association, Patriotic Onion Traders’ Association, Accra Onion Sellers’ Association and Ghana Youth Onion Association.
To prevent any inconvenience, the council has budgeted to assist the traders in transporting their wares, the regional minister said.
Adjen Kotoku Market
Adjen Kotoku Market is a bulk breaking market complex that was started in 2008 and completed in 2011.
It was originally built to accommodate traders in the Agbogbloshie Market to ease congestion in the area.
The project comprises a free-draining platform for loading and unloading of goods and 95 sectional storage units of approximately 30 metres square each with secure locking facilities.
It also has a senior high school, a health centre and a police station as well as a fire station.
However, since its completion, the market has been abandoned and there has been no government intervention.
Quartey said he had personally inspected the market and is certain that the place is more suitable for bulk breaking business.
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