Traders, residents bemoan lack of a befitting community market at Anum

Market women at the Anum community market in the Asuogyaman District of the Eastern region have appealed to authorities and indigenes of the Anum community to come on board and pool resources towards the redevelopment of the facility to befit a proper marketing facility.

Some of the market women who spoke to GhanaWeb in an interview at Anum lamented that the market has been left to its woes without any infrastructural development to uplift its image.

Auntie Alice, the market leader in an interview complained that since most of the traders do not have stalls or sheds, they have to defy the weather conditions to sell in order to make a living.

According to her, the appalling condition at the market is negatively affecting daily sales, thereby robbing the traders of maximum patronage from customers.

The worried trader in expressing the degenerating conditions at the market, especially during the rainy season is thus pleading with authorities to come to their aid, saying their very livelihood depends on the market and they therefore deserve to conduct their activities in a conducive atmosphere.

As part of efforts to undertake the project, a newly formed NGO, the Anumman Development Foundation is championing efforts to undertake a self-help initiative to raise resources to fix the problem.

Elder Kweku Owusu, vice chairman of the Anumman Development Foundation speaking in an interview explained that the current state of the market remains a concern to residents of the area, adding that its upgrade remains one of their priorities of establishing the organization.

“Our market remains one of the developmental priorities of the community and so we’re launching the foundation to help us build the market,” he said. “With the state of the market, our mothers do not find anywhere to take shelter when it rains together with their goods.”

Lamenting over the state of the market, the vice chair stated that, “the market is in a sorry state and we want to change the situation to a modern state.”

Elder Owusu said the end of the project should see the facility transformed into a bigger, decent and modern market to accommodate more traders and buyers for their convenience.

He appealed to all stakeholders, indigenes and residents of Anum across the length and breadth of the country and beyond to join the inauguration of the foundation to facilitate the redevelopment of the market and other infrastructure in the community.

Assemblyman for the Amoanda Electoral Area and a member of the Anumman Development Foundation, Frank Asare Ayesu told GhanaWeb that although the Asuogyaman District Assembly about three years ago initiating steps to establish a befitting market for the community, the lack of an appropriate location prevented the project from seeing the light of day.

“Prior to covid, the Assembly planned bringing the market to the place but siting was a challenge and the place that was allocated for the siting of the market geographically wasn’t proper,” he said.

According to Mr. Ayesu, though he anticipates a difficult fundraising exercise for the project, he’s nevertheless counting on the cooperation of the public for its success.

He, therefore, appealed to all and sundry to join forces for the noble project to see the light of day.