Traders in Mamponteng have appealed to the Mahama administration to intervene after repeated collapses of a high-tension power line at their trading site, saying the danger has left them fearing for their lives and livelihoods.
The traders staged a protest on Tuesday (17 February), urging the president to grant approval for them to relocate to an abandoned, unfinished market nearby so they can renovate it themselves and resume business in safer conditions.
Plight
Their ordeal dates back to April 2012, when government led by the National Democratic Congress (NDC) began construction of what was later named the Jubilee Market — a facility designed to house more than 100 shops and relocate traders away from the power lines. More than a decade on, the project remains stalled.
The uncompleted market structure now stands largely derelict, serving as a shelter for the homeless and, in parts, a makeshift maize farm, traders and local leaders said.
Meanwhile, vendors have been forced to operate beneath high-tension electricity cables after being evacuated from the old market to make way for the new construction.
Traders said the power lines have collapsed at least three times, with the most recent incident setting a colleague’s shop ablaze and destroying goods. They added that the cables often spark and tremble during storms, forcing them to flee whenever dark clouds gather.
Mamponteng, located in the Kwabre area of Ghana’s Ashanti Region, hosts a busy weekly market every Tuesday, attracting hundreds of buyers from surrounding communities.
Once regarded as a key food hub in the northern part of the region, the market has steadily declined as vendors are pushed to the roadside or into unsafe spaces under the grid lines, traders said.
Economic toll
The disruptions have taken an economic toll. Some traders said customers now prefer other markets, citing safety concerns, leading to falling sales and mounting losses for vendors who have traded in the town for years.
“If government cannot complete the market, we should be allowed to mobilise resources and finish it ourselves,” one trader said during the protest, adding that continued trading under the cables could prove fatal.
“We feel forgotten”, another indicated. “Government officials have been notified of our situation, but it appears they have no interest in getting this market operational. This is very disturbing”.
Disaster-in-waiting
The Krontihene of the Mamponteng Traditional Council, Nana Owusu Ansah, backed the traders’ demands, warning that the situation posed a serious public safety risk. He urged authorities to fast-track completion of the stalled market project, describing the current conditions as “a disaster waiting to happen.”
There was no immediate response from government officials at the time of publication.
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