The  GA- West   Municipal   Chief   Executive,  Hon  John  Desmond  Sowah  Nai on  Thursday   met  the  chairpersons  of Onion Sellers Associations  of  Kotoku  market.  The meeting which was held at the Municipal Assembly Hall was aimed   at discussing how to manage the market in areas of ownership, revenue, rents and projects.

 Addressing  the  participants,  Honourable  John  Desmond  Sowah  Nai  appreciated  the traders  for their   efforts  to  sustain  the  Kotoku  market  and  said that there is the need  to  properly manage  the  market. He further informed the Chairpersons of the   need   to   abide   by the laws towards this adaptation. 

 In  outlining  their  concerns ,  the spokesperson   of  the  associations Mr. Issah Mumuni  said  the   traders  were not  given  any  contract  or  document   regarding  the  ownership   of  the  stores   in  the  market.  He  further stated  that  some  of the sheds  were not  properly roofed  therefore  the  roofs leak when  rain falls and their onions get rotten. He added that they needed good sanitation, a public toilet and an ultra-modern mosque.

When asked of rent issues,  the  chairpersons  responded that  they  have  5  associations  and the  95  stores  available were  shared   among  the  associations  therefore, there  is no  fixed   amount   charged  for  the  stores  since  the  charges   varies  between  the  associations. There  were  also  no records   on the  occupants  of  the  stores,   sheds  and  lands  in the  market.  They  explained  that  the  stores,  sheds  and  lands  were    shared  among  themselves . He emphasized that the  structures  were  built   by  the  government   however,  the  rent  goes  to the  association  heads.

Concluding  the  meeting  the  Municipal  Chief  Executive   appreciated  them  for  honouring  his  invitation.  He acknowledged the fact that   the Assembly is partly responsible for the pending issues.  He then  emphasized  that  way  forward,  The  traders  should  take  note   that  all  government  properties  within  the  municipality is  owned  by  the  government  and  must  be  managed  by  the  assembly  since  it  falls  within  its jurisdiction.

He  directed  them  to  produce  records  of  tenants ,  rent agreements,  rental rates , who   rented  the  shops to the tenants  and the number of  shops  allocated  to  each  association  to the  assembly  in  seven  days.

Present  at  the  gathering  was the  Ga West Municipal  Chief  Executive, Hon. John Desmond Sowah Nai ,Ga West District  Police Commanders, Officers from the Ga West Fire Service ,  officers  from  the  National  Intelligence Bureau, Heads  of  Departments  of  the  Assembly and   The  Chairpersons for Progressive  Co-Operative   Onion   and  Traders  Association, Gapto   Onion  Traders  Association, Ghana  Onion  Youth  Association, Accra  Co- Operative  Onion  Traders  Society and the Ga West Assembly Security Co-ordinators.

Source: Rachel Sarpong, ISD.