Traders in the old Bolgatanga market widely known as Ayiah market in the Upper East Region are calling on authorities of the Bolgatanga Municipal Assembly to as a matter of urgency take measures to bring traders trading in the new market back to the old market in order to avert a current problem of low sales.Two years now after the municipal assembly handed over stores and sheds to some traders to occupy in the Ayiah market, traders have now returned to the new market which was created for them in order to pave way for renovation to take place in the old market.
Reasons given by those who returned to the new market is that business was not blooming since their costumers could not locate them in the Ayiah market. Only few traders are currently occupying the stores and sheds allocated to them by the Bolgatanga Municipal Assembly while majority of the stores and sheds are locked up as a result of the problem.
When A1 News visited both markets on Wednesday to ascertain the current situation, traders in the old Ayiah market said the many sheds and stores locked up are for their colleagues who are now trading in the new market, denying those of them who want to do business in the Ayiah market the opportunity to occupy stores or sheds.
Many of the unoccupied stores and sheds have now been turned out into places of convenient for unscrupulous people while some other people too have taken advantage of the less – busy nature of the market to satisfy their sexual desires in some of the sheds and stores at night.
Also, some traders have become victims of theft at night because the market is not connected to electricity. Some of the traders say even with the current situation of bad business in the market, they are still made to pay taxes to the municipal assembly.
The traders are calling on the assembly to help address the situation.
By: Joshua Asaah | A1Radioonline.com | Ghana
