Scores of angry traders, mostly women at the Kotokoraba Market in Cape Coast in the Central Region, yesterday clashed with authorities of the Cape Coast Metropolitan Assembly (CCMA) over the construction of new stores at a parking space in the market.
The traders, who wore red arm bands and chanted war songs, moved quickly to pull down the stores which were being put up by the assembly to accommodate other traders who did not obtain stores in the market.
Efua Mensah, a 37-year-old trader at the facility, told DAILY GUIDE that they would resist any attempt by the Assembly to put up stores at the car park.
She indicated that authorities at the Assembly also failed to consult them.
According to them, the construction of the new stores would worsen the traffic situation in the area.
DAILY GUIDE’s sources at the market indicated that the traders were determined to stop CCMA from constructing the stores.
They therefore appealed to President Nana Akufo-Addo and the Central Regional Minister Kwamena Duncan to call the Metropolitan Chief Executive Ernest Arthur to order.
However, Richmond Yeboah, the Public Relations Officer (PRO) at the Assembly, denied accusations by the traders, noting that the Assembly had put measures in place to address congestion in the area.
He reiterated the commitment of the Assembly to relocate the traders and improve sanitation to prevent the outbreak of avoidable diseases ahead of the rainy season.
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