A trader at the Odawna Rubber Factory Market near Kwame Nkrumah Circle in Accra says she has lost 15 shops stocked with goods worth about GH¢100,000 each after floodwaters and a subsequent fire ravaged the market during Monday’s torrential rains.
The June 29 disaster left hundreds of traders counting heavy losses after floodwaters submerged large sections of the market before a fire broke out, destroying shops and merchandise.
Speaking to Citi News’ Bernard Avle during an assessment of the affected area on Thursday, July 2, trader Georgina Lartey, popularly known as “Happy Yourself,” said although flooding is a recurring challenge every June, this year’s incident was unlike anything she had experienced.
“I have been here for about 10 years. Every June, it floods, so we are used to it. This time, when it flooded, I thought it was the usual one. I even took a car and was going home when I received a call that fire had broken out at the workplace,” she recounted.
Lartey said she rushed back to the market but was unable to salvage any of her goods because emergency responders had restricted access to the area due to safety concerns.
She said all 15 of her shops were destroyed, with each stocked with merchandise valued at approximately GH¢100,000, wiping out years of hard work and investment.
“When I arrived, I couldn’t go in to save anything. The Fire Service said the water level was high and electricity cables had fallen into the water, so they could not immediately access the area to put out the fire.
“Speaking to you as Happy Yourself, I have 15 shops, and if you look at the inventory inside, it is worth GH¢100,000 each. All my hard work throughout my entire life is gone,” she said.
Lartey added that the disaster has affected more than 500 traders, many of whom depend entirely on their businesses for their livelihoods.
She explained that most traders reinvest their earnings into purchasing stock instead of keeping their money in banks, making it extremely difficult to recover from losses of this magnitude.
“We don’t take our money to the bank. We use the money to stock up our shops. We reinvest the money into the business. We are more than 500 people,” she added.
