The Tamale Metropolitan Assembly would soon embark on an exercise to decongest the main Central Business District including the main market as part of measures to ensure the safety and convenience of traders in the market.
The exercise will be carried out in collaboration with the Metropolitan Fire Service Department, the Volta River Authority (VRA) and other stakeholders which will then make it possible for the Assembly to undertake some minor works within the market.
This was announced by the Mayor, Alhaji Abudulai Harruna Friday at a meeting with members of the Tamale Progressive Traders Association (PTA) in Tamale recently.
The meeting which was at the instance of the traders was to afford them and Alhaji Harruna Friday the opportunity to interact and to discuss issues of mutual concern and benefit as partners in development.
Alhaji Harruna Friday warned that not even a needle may be salvaged from the Central Market in the event of a fire outbreak and therefore the planned exercise would be in their own interest since most businesses in the market were not insured against fire or any natural disaster.
According to him, the safety of traders and shoppers not only in the Central Market but in all the Markets in the Metropolis is of paramount importance hence the urgent need to ensure and guarantee safety standards in the markets.
He said the intended exercise would first entail a dialoguing session with chiefs and the traders to secure their understanding and co-operation which would soon be followed by the removal and possible dismantling of all unauthorized structures within the market such as store extensions and wrongly placed tables after the expiry of a stipulated period of time.
Alhaji Harruna Friday assured that the exercise would be done with a human face so that no trader or shop owner suffers unduly as a result of the exercise and used the opportunity to appeal to all owners of such unauthorized structures and tables who undoubtedly will be affected during the exercise to consider re-locating to the Lamashegu, Kalpohin, Aboabo market area and other satellite markets within the Metropolis.
The Mayor of Tamale commended members of the Association for their continuous participation in all the Assembly’s sanitation campaigns and collaborative effort in mobilizing revenue for the Assembly, and urged them to continue to encourage more traders to join the Association so as to widen the tax net for increased revenue for development.
The Chairman of the Progressive Traders Association (PTA), Alhaji Yasaba on behalf of the group thanked the Mayor for accepting to attend the meeting and assured the Assembly of the Association’s co-operation and unflinching support to decongest the central market saying “they will do all in their power to ensure the success of the exercise when it starts”.
Alhaji Yasaba however appealed to the Tamale Metropolitan Assembly and Central Government to urgently intervene and take steps to protect local businesses which he said were gradually being taken over by some ‘aggressive traders’ from neighboring countries and the Middle East alleging that, the retail sector of the economy which is usually the preserve of the local traders was now virtually run by foreigners.
No comments:
Post a Comment