The Women’s Caucus in Parliament recently undertook a critical visit to the La-Nkwantanang-Madina Municipal Assembly and the bustling Madina Market. Their mission was to observe firsthand the adherence of traders to new regulations following recent decongestion exercises in major Accra markets, and to discuss the long-term future and welfare of the vital economic actors.
Comfort Doyoe Cudjoe, Chairperson of the caucus and First Deputy Majority Leader, led the delegation. She commended the Assembly’s pragmatic approach in ensuring traders no longer occupy pavements designated for pedestrians or obstruct vehicular movement on roads.
However, she also put forward a significant proposal, urging the Assembly to consider adopting the remarkable and peaceful demarcation strategy employed by the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA). This approach, she noted, allocates specific pavement portions to traders, particularly those who lack the financial capacity to rent dedicated market stalls.
“It is sometimes disturbing to see market women with babies at their backs running anytime the task force comes to send them off the pavements,” Doyoe stated emphatically. “We don’t want to see them running because we promised them that there is not going to be any ‘Abaye’ (raid or forceful eviction). We expect you to sustain any reform you have implemented, so if you know you can’t sustain it, then talk to your colleagues in the Accra Metropolitan Assembly. They have a strategy that they use, and you can adopt that as well because when we went there, all the women were happy.”
Adding his voice to the discussions, Francis Xavier Sosu, Member of Parliament for the Madina Constituency, revealed that plans are underway to establish night markets. These proposed markets would feature well-lit roads and police support, enabling some market women to trade in the evening and thereby reduce daytime congestion.
Following their discussions with the Assembly, the caucus proceeded to the Madina Market, Ghana’s second-largest, to engage directly with traders. The objective was to understand their challenges and ensure their compliance with safety measures.
Abena Kwesiwa Kyei, Municipal Coordinating Director of the La-Nkwantanang-Madina Municipal Assembly, assured the caucus that the implemented congestion measures would be sustained. She affirmed that traders who previously occupied the overpass have been evacuated, with the Assembly committed to preventing their return.
Story By: Eugenia Ewoenam Osei
