Kumasi traders threaten to campaign against NPP over abandoned markets

The unions include the Second-hand Cloth Sellers Association, Santasi Traders Union, Suame Magazine Workers Union, Mamponteng Traders Association, Central Market Traders Association, and Kumasi Lotto Sellers Association. 

The aggrieved traders also warned that the barricades on the Kejetia Second Phase project be removed before they take matters into their own hands. 

We, the entirety of traders in the Kumasi and its environs, including the Second-hand Cloth Sellers Association, Santasi Traders Union, Suame Magazine Workers Union, Mamponteng Traders Association, Central Market Traders Association, Kumasi Lotto Sellers Association, have jointly decided to initiate a campaign against the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the upcoming 2024 general election if the government fails to complete all the abandoned markets in the Ashanti Region, including the much-awaited Phase Two of the Kejetia Market.

Over the past one year, six months, progress on these projects has come to a halt due to the renegotiation of a loan agreement following the country’s decision to opt for a financial bailout from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) while other markets including Mamponteng market, Krofrom market and Santasi market has been abandoned since former President Kufuor era.

Santasi Market

We fail to comprehend why a project would be initiated only to be abandoned, leaving our fellow traders to sell their goods in unsuitable conditions.

If our demand did not yield any result, we the aforementioned traders together with Asanteman Youth Union will joined the five days demonstration by our brothers and sisters of Central Market and second hand cloth sellers to demonstrate against the government.