The big issue, Daily Graphic, May 20, 2013

Complied by: Salomey Appiah      
The big issue
The Kantamanto Market is one of the biggest markets in Ghana. It is in Accra and hosts over 10,000 traders and other people.
The traders deal mainly in all kinds of second-hand wares, including clothing, footwear and bags. Food items and vehicle spare parts can also be found in the market.
The market is also an income-generating avenue for head potters who carry goods from warehouses to the shops and from the shops to  vehicles.
Many tailors and seamstresses cash in on the operations of second-hand clothes dealers and ply their trade at the market, making alterations on the second-hand clothes and bags.
 Other people, including cobblers, chop bar operators and ironing boys, earn their livelihood at the market.
Portions of the market have been ravaged by fire several times, leading to loss of property and money.
The congested nature of the market makes it almost impossible for Fire Service personnel to put out fire outbreaks there in a timely manner.
The Chief Executive of the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA), Mr Alfred Okoe Vanderpuiye, said at a press conference on Monday, May 6, 2013 that the market would be reconstructed into a modern market to befit the city of Accra.
However, the traders claim to have the right to the land on which the market is built. They claimed the land was leased to them for 50 years by the Ghana Railway Authority. They said they paid GHc280,000, while they pay GH30, 000 annually.
There have been calls by the traders on the government to leave the land, as they are prepared to reconstruct the market themselves. This position stems out of the fear that the land may not be given back to them after the reconstruction of the market by the AMA.
This has resulted in  clashes between the traders and the police, who were tasked to protect the task force and personnel of Zoomlion who are clearing the debris at the site.

FACT BOX
1.        2,314 fire outbreaks were recorded in the country in 2010.

2.    In 2012, the country lost GH¢1.47 million to 704 fire outbreaks in the first quarter, as against GH¢1.62 million losses recorded in the same period of 2011. 

3.    Some 1,443 fire outbreaks have been recorded nationwide in the first quarter of 2013, out of which 178 people have died.

2.    The cost of damage to properties in the fire outbreaks recorded is estimated at GHc8,996,584.

5.    The Kantamanto Market got burnt on Sunday, May 5, 2013.

6.        Leaders of the Kantamanto Joint Traders Association provided documents to show that the land was leased to them by the Ghana Railway Authority for 50 years, out of which they had spent five years. 

A ferocious fire swept through the Kantamanto Market on May 5, 2013, destroying the livelihoods of thousands of people.
This is what a cross-section of Ghanaians have to say about that fire outbreak:

Mr Edward Obiri Ampong, Public Relations Officer: The rate of fire outbreaks in the country is too much, hence the need to take a critical look at measures to reduce them. Also, victims of fire outbreaks should not be too quick to draw conclusions on the causes of the outbreaks without looking for the root causes. There could be internal causes which need to be looked at before the external causes. 
Meanwhile, the government should negotiate with the traders and see how best the problem could be solved.

Mrs Elizabeth Amankwah Asumah, second-hand clothes importer: The government’s idea to rebuild the market is good, but it should involve the traders for them to also make their contributions and ensure that when completed it will be given back to them.  The government should consider the women and the loss of their livelihood and ensure that the land is handed over to the traders.

Mr Maxwell Cudjoe Owusu, second-clothes importer: The fire was an unfortunate incident. The government must negotiate with the traders, since they are not strangers but citizens of the nation. The women should be considered and given a portion of the land to start work as soon as possible, so that they can rebuild themselves to regain their losses. 

Mrs Josephine Kissi, a trader: The traders should allow the government to construct a modern market which is accessible to all. Also, when it is well structured the Fire Service would have a way to the market and stop future fire outbreaks.
Meanwhile, the government should keep its promise to give the market back to the traders after it has been rebuilt.