Traders at the Kasoa Old and New Markets have been relocated to new market centres.
The traders have been relocated to four new satellite markets which are going to operate a shift system.
Earlier on Tuesday, the Awutu Senya East Municipality announced the closure of the Kasoa Old and New markets after traders refused to comply with the spacing, rotation and other healthy guideline policies proposed by the assembly to curtail the spread of the novel coronavirus.
“What is happening is that Kasoa Market is not like other markets in that it is a food basket that serves the West African sub-region. And so we cannot compare this market to the rest. The MCE met us and allocated satellite markets to us so it means that we have to work with the various groupings to make sure everybody gets a space,” Alhaji Haroune Tetteh Mensah, convenor for Odukponkpehe Market Retailers Association said.
Alhaji Haroune Tetteh in a Citi News interview said the first of the shift system on Friday encountered some challenges.
“Since this is the first day of the exercise that is why we are facing challenges but as the days go by we will implement more stringent measures to curb the continuous flow of people,” he added.
Municipal Chief Executive for Awutu Senya East, Michael Essuman Mensah, also lamented the challenges characterizing the implementation of the new system put in place.
“Some of the women were adamant because some of them were actually stubborn and refused to use the satellite market but we managed to sack them from the main market.”
Some buyers who spoke to Citi News said although they buy into the idea of a satellite market the Assembly must make sure people don’t sell on the shoulders of the market.
