DANGER IN THE MARKETPLACE: MAMPONTENG TRADERS DEMAND URGENT COMPLETION OF ABANDONED MARKET PROJECT
Tension is mounting at Mamponteng Market in the Kwabre East Municipality of the Ashanti Region as traders stage a fierce protest over what they describe as a prolonged exposure to life-threatening conditions.
The traders lament that for years they have been compelled to ply their trade directly beneath high-tension electricity cables, a situation they say has subjected them to severe health complications and constant fear.
According to them, several colleagues have developed serious eye problems, while others have allegedly lost their lives under circumstances they attribute to the hazardous environment.
Their plight, they recount, dates back to April 2012 when the then National Democratic Congress (NDC) administration initiated the construction of a modern market complex to relocate them from the unsafe location.
However, more than a decade after the sod was cut, the project remains stalled and incomplete.
The agitated traders are therefore issuing a passionate but firm ultimatum to government: complete the abandoned market without further delay or grant them the authorization to mobilize their own resources to finish the structure. They insist they cannot continue to operate under high-voltage cables while their lives hang in the balance.
Meanwhile, the Krontihene of the Mamponteng Traditional Council, Nana Owusu Ansah, has added his voice to the growing agitation.
He has earnestly appealed to government to treat the matter with urgency and compassion, stressing that the continued delay is not only unacceptable but dangerously costly to human lives.
