Apowa traders selling in the rain …as reconstruction of market is held up

By Alfred Adams

They are going through hell, but they can neither complain nor do anything to reverse their present predicament. In fact, they are feeling the unpleasantness of selling in the open, most particularly, during this rainy season.

And when the rain eventually set in, their goods are exposed to the mercy of the rain, which eventually kills their hopes and aspirations for the day. This is because the rains damage their produce making them incur losses.
This is the sad story of the market women at Apowa, near Takoradi, in the Ahanta West District, over the last few months. When this file visited the area, though it was discovered that the only market in the area was undergoing renovation, there was no sign of the project being completed in the near future, as the contractor working on the project was dilly-dallying.

The sheds under which the market women sell their goods had been cleared, and stands mounted. But, there was no visible sign of the contractor finishing the project, as he cannot be traced. Funding for the renovation project is sourced from the Ahanta West District Assembly (AWDA) Internal Generated Fund (IGF), but interestingly, the Assembly is not playing any vigilante role to see that the contractor uses the right materials to complete the project.
In fact, it had to take the vigilance of the Assembly Member for the Apowa electoral area, Nicholas Nyankom, to prevent the contractor from using shoddy materials for the project.
Speaking in an interview with this File, Nicholas Nyankom, who confirmed the story, added that his vigilance on the project led to the stoppage of rotten lumber being used by the contractor on the project.

According to him, following his confrontation with the contractor over the rotten lumber, the latter eventually ceased.
The market in question was built some ages ago, and is not the only market serving the entire township. It is also believed that there are major works to be carried on the market, and that is going to delay the completion of the project on time.

It is upon this belief that some of the market women, who spoke to this file, expressed their frustration over the delay in the completion of the renovation project. This is because the continuous downpour was causing more harm than good, as their goods are exposed to the mercy of the rains. For this reason, they appealed to the Assembly to ensure the speedy completion of the project, so that they could go back to their respective sheds.

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