Order KMA and Contracta to stop demolition of our stores – Kumasi traders pray to the High Court

Some aggrieved traders in Kumasi Central Market are asking the High Court to stop an ongoing demolition exercise and start work on the second phase of the Kumasi Central Market redevelopment project.

This was contained in a complaint filed by lawyers on behalf of people who trade in goods ranging from bags, shoes, jewelry, cosmetics, among others.

The Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA) and Contracta Engineering, the construction company working on the project, are joined in the lawsuit.

They are trying to stop the demolition of more than 1,500 stores in the mall, “having inherited from our deceased parents.”

The traders claim their action is in response to failed attempts to get KMA to provide them with space in the newly constructed Kejetia Market to pave the way for the start of the second phase of the Kumasi Central Market redevelopment project.

The court documents show that the KMA having collected the rent from them “then called to cancel the grant of stores and asked us to continue operating from our current market place until they found another market for us. Until the date on which the sums collected from us have not been reimbursed by the respondent [KMA] after the failed promise ”.

The group that formed the Kumasi City Market Union accused the KMA of acting in bad faith.

“We believe that our basic human rights have been violated by the KMA… We have been sent home without a single allowance and the KMA is not doing anything about it. We have had extensive stakeholder consultations to resolve this issue, but it looks like the city authorities are taking us for a ride, ”Union Secretary Richard Boamah said in an interview with dailymailgh.com .

“KMA is a bigger machine than us and the way they communicate their issues makes our situation worse and with this situation at hand we thought it was wise that an honorable court put an end to this matter,” he said. he added.

The Ashanti Regional Coordinating Council recently gave traders until midnight on March 13 to relocate.

With this new development, it looks like Ghana stands to lose a massive € 253million loan deal on the project if the authorities don’t take action to break the deadlock.