The phenomenon of roadside markets is gradually gaining ground in the Wa Municipality of the Upper West Region due to the limited spaces available for traders to sell.
This is partly as a result of the ongoing infrastructural market development at the central business district coupled with population growth that is usually synonymous with development.
For some years now, the Wa market has been undergoing a major facelift with the erection of market stores to create enough space for traders by the Municipal assembly through a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) arrangement.
However, apart from these market women not being able to afford to hire the stores, the operations of petty trading essentially only require stalls or open spaces to run.
This has resulted in any available space by the roadside being turned into a makeshift market many of which are now dotted across the municipality, especially on market days.
Some of the traders even display their merchandise on the shoulders of the roads ranging from charcoal, tubers of yam, tomatoes, garden eggs, and so on, a move very precarious to the traders.
This has therefore been of great concern to residents due to the unhygienic conditions under which the traders sell not forgetting the accompanying risk that comes with selling on the streets.
Speaking to GhanaWeb on Monday, February 28, 2022, some of the women appealed to the Wa Municipal Assembly to get them a befitting space for their market activities.
Habiba Iddris, a trader said: "We know this is not the right place to sell but it's just that we have no option. We want to appeal to the MCE (Wa Municipal Assembly) to try and get us a suitable place so we can do our trading activities there."
Another trader, Hawa Alhasan, in response to why they didn't move to the new market where there was enough space to accommodate more traders, indicated they opted to stay behind because they were petty traders and that the place was too far for their clients to travel in order to patronise their items.
Mr. Kweku Ismail, a resident who also spoke to GhanaWeb expressed concern over the safety of the market women as well as the condition under which they displayed their items.
"If you look at where they sell, it's dangerous for their lives. Because it's just by the roadside and some even sell on the roads. So a vehicle or motorbike can accidentally run into them and the consequences would be dire.
"Again, the way many of them display their foodstuffs is not healthy at all. Something really needs to be done. But can you blame them that much? They don't have a suitable place to sell that's why they are here," he stated.
Meanwhile, efforts to get a response from the Wa Municipal Chief Executive were unsuccessful.
Traders on transacting business on the roads of Wa