Some Kumasi residents have joined calls for the total overhaul of activities in the Central Business District, including Adum, Kejetia and the Central Market.

According to contributors on the Citizens Conversation on Luv in the Morning, petty traders who sell especially on pavements, are to blame for the current situation.

Others are of the view shopping at the various satellite markets should be made attractive to reduce the human and vehicular traffic congestion experienced on daily basis.

“The problem is not with the buyer, the problem is with the seller. The seller who is at Atonsu Agogo, has a small shop at Asafo or at Adum because she feels that she’s been disadvantaged. So, if some are taken to Atonsu and others are not, then those who are at Atonsu will find a way of coming back,” observed Maclean Tuffuor.

“If we want to fix this challenge once and for all, we have to take everyone out of the CBD. We have to build bigger or larger satellite markets and we should not be thinking of them as temporary solutions. The satellite markets should be seen as a permanent solution to resolving all these congestion issues”.

Another contributor, Joseph Ayetey opined that city authorities could have taken advantage of the lockdown directives in March 2020 to bring some sanity.

“It will be recalled that during the early stages of the Covid-19 in Ghana, there was restricted movement to certain places including markets and so that forced people to buy items in their communities, although the prices were comparatively high,” he said. “This activity significantly reduced the influx of goods and services at the CBD and so the various MMDAs should have encouraged buying of stuff and essentials from satellite or smaller markets in their areas.”

George Addae also told host David Akuetteh that “The problem starts from leadership. These petty traders who move on to the pavement, are made to pay tolls, and that is an illegality. Immediately you take tolls from these people, you legitimize them and make them feel like yes, what they are doing is legal.

"The other issue is that, is the newly reconstructed Kejetia market full? If we’re Ghanaians and this is a government of Ghana project, why don’t we move some of these traders there and let them pay the tolls which is more comfortable.”

Mr. Addae further asserted there was an engineering problem at Kejetia; making specific reference to what he described as limited parking space for both commercial transport operators and private vehicles.   

“When we build these markets, we should be able to put lorry parks in it conveniently for those who don’t have cars and have parking slots for those who have cars,” he stated.

As the second phase of the Kejetia Market reconstruction takes shape, city authorities have hinted of plans to relocate traders at the Central Market to nearby Race Course and Afua Kobi markets to make space for the project.

This development has generated threats of demonstrations against the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly, who the traders claim has shortchanged them.

The leadership of the traders say the much-touted alternative spaces are not conducive enough for business.

They fear they will not be allocated any shops after the reconstruction.