One year after fire destroyed the Odawna market at Kwame Nkrumah Circle, Accra, the government is yet to reconstruct the market.
Samuel Eshun, Chairman of the Odawna Market, who disclosed this, however, said that adequate measures would be put in place to avert any mishap when the market is reconstructed.
He said the market was prone to flooding anytime it rained “so before the new market is built, the design must be such that it can adequately address the problem of flooding.”
Mr Eshun in an interview with the Ghanaian Times, said “the drainage system here is bad, so there is always flooding. To avoid this, we are going to construct a proper drainage system”.
He expressed the hope that if a drainage system was constructed the flooding would be a thing of the past, adding that “previous mistakes will not be made so as to avoid any future occurrence.”
Mr Eshun said, “there has already been meetings with stakeholders and investors so we are positive everything will go right”.
Paul Abowine, a tailor and a victim of the fire outbreak, told the Ghanaian Times that he lost all his belongings to the fire, saying though he was paid compensation, it was not enough to bring him back to normalcy.
He said he went for a loan to start his business and expressed hope that after the reconstruction of the market, he could rent stalls and shops at affordable fees to expand his business.
Last year, 0n November 18, 2020, the Odwana market caught fire, damaging properties of more than 3000 traders.
BY CONNIELOVE MAWUTOR NYODZODZEGBE
