Kejetia market vendors “vehemently” condemn the facility’s prolonged closure.
The New Kejetia Market‘s vendors have pledged to disobey the order to keep the place shut down for another week.
The traders’ leadership has stated that despite the board’s order, they will visit the plant and carry out their regular operations along with transport providers.
This comes after the market was ordered to remain closed for an additional week by the facility’s board of directors following Wednesday’s fire incident.
The traders have criticized the decision as being callous and have urged the board and management to immediately reverse it.
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The numerous trader groups in the market stated in a combined press release that they have decided to disobey the board’s mandate.
“We wish to explicitly express that we firmly disagree with this after seeing a press announcement purporting to be from the Kumasi City Market board of directors on the opening of the Kejetia market, which has been extended for one extra week beginning Monday, 20th March 2023. Please don’t take us, the merchants and transportation providers, for granted. It is quite evident that the board doesn’t care what the traders and transportation providers rely on for a living because they have a reliable source of funding. We would want to let everyone know that the Kejetia [market] will be open for business on Monday. “We will not tolerate the additional one-week closure,” the statement said in several places.
The board and management have also come under fire from the merchants for not acting quickly to avert the crisis.
“We would like to pose the following queries:
1. What was the fire service’s multiple warnings handled by the board? Is a copy of the warning letter attached to this release.
2. What is the board trying to keep the public from learning? Is it their inability to act and oversee well when necessary, or their unwillingness to do so?
3. What have they accomplished during the past four (4) days while the market was shut down? We can state with certainty that if given a full year, they won’t be able to assist us in any way.
4. Why is the managing director involved in a bromance with the board of directors? Is he their go-between who just wants to be touched because he carries out their orders?
5. Why are the managing director and board chairman still in their positions despite overseeing this catastrophe? Before we continue, they must leave.
6. All the juicy tales about the Kejetia Market were revealed to us. Is anyone making an effort to disprove the deception they told us about the market’s structural integrity?
7. Has the board acknowledged that even three days can negatively affect the market for traders who deal in perishable goods?
8. How will the board compensate vendors who, as a result of the closure, would lose clients to fierce rivals in the Kejetia Market?
9. Will the board be accountable for the traders’ daily profits?
Would the management have the guts and audacity to charge traders a service fee when the market opens for the amount of days that traders do not trade?
11. Where were the members of the board who were instructed to attend despite the fact that they had been sleeping and allowed the Kejetia market to deteriorate?
12. The phrase “structural integrity” has been used numerous times; does the board really give a damn about Kejetia’s structural engineer? Where were they during the seven instances where blown pipelines destroyed dealers’ clothing and 33 traders are currently fighting this in court with Kumasi City Market Limited? Fire has severely exposed them today, therefore they are attempting to buy time and cover their shameful faces.
Also, they requested President Akufo-intervention. Addo’sWhat is the position of the administration headed by His Excellency Nana Addo Dankwah Akufo-Addo on all of this, and do they genuinely care about our problems? In these trying circumstances for the country, does the president genuinely care about the Kejetia economy? Does the president get a good night’s sleep knowing that over 800 shops are occupied by traders and transport workers? Oh, we are a part of the Ghanaian people too. By means of this announcement, we are urging all business owners and transportation professionals to report to work on Monday, March 20, 2023; nobody should stay at home. Red bands should be worn by everyone.
