Assembly decongests Tamale Central Market
The Tamale Metropolitan Assembly (TaMA) has carried out a three-day decongestion of the Tamale Central Market as a way of enhancing safety and promoting access to the market in case of an emergency.
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In the exercise, carried out from Thursday to Saturday, illegal structures erected along pathways in the market and extensions to stalls onto the pathways were demolished.
Giving an explanation for the demolition exercise, a Deputy Coordinating Director at the TaMA, Mr Jafaru Abdul-Aziz, said the exercise was carried out in response to an earlier recommendation made by the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS).
He said the GNFS conducted an inspection of the market about three years ago and recommended that certain structures in the market be abolished to make it easier for fire tenders and other vehicles to move in to attend to emergency situations.
“Following that recommendation, the TaMA carried out sensitisation exercises among the traders for them to see the need for the demolition to take place for their own safety and the safety of their goods,” he added.
Asked whether the exercise was not as a result of the rampant fire outbreaks being experienced at various markets across the country, Mr Abdul-Aziz said the decision of the TaMA had nothing to do with the recent fires.
He said the TaMA took the decision to decongest the market before the outbreak of the rampant market fires.
When the Daily Graphic visited the market, the traders had erected temporary structures at the areas where the demolition took place and were selling their goods while others were seen selling under umbrellas and canopies, some just displayed their goods on top of tables and on the bare ground for sale.
A trader, Swanzy Justice, said they erected the temporary structures with permission from officials of the TaMA.
“The TaMA officials told us that we can put tables and other movable structures at where they have demolished and sell our goods so that in case of an emergency, we can easily evacuate our goods and give them the chance to carry out their intervention,” he added.
He, however, blamed the TaMA officials for giving them short notice before carrying out the demolition.
“They brought the notification letter about the demolition around 11 o’clock on Wednesday and by Thursday dawn, they had demolished our stalls,” he complained.
He said he lost some yams and some other goods as a result of the demolition.
Another trader, Ayishetu, said the demolition, though laudable, was ill-timed.
“We are in the rainy season; where do we store our goods as we sell our beans and millet on top of tables?” she lamented.
It was, however, realised that despite several warnings for naked fire not to be exposed in the market, some of the market women were seen cooking by their stalls.
By Marcelinus Dery/Daily Graphic/Ghana
