Traders at Madina Zongo Junction market decry stench from filthy gutters

Traders at the Madina Zongo Junction Market in Accra have decried the open gutters in the market and have, therefore, called on the authorities to help solve the problem.

According to them, their health is at risk due to the open gutters with stagnant water emitting pungent scents they endure all day in the market.

They are, therefore, appealing to the La Nkwantanang Madina Municipal Assembly to come to their rescue by ensuring that the refuse is cleared and gutters cleaned to save their health.

They said the assembly should assign the officers in the market to ensure that refuse was not dumped indiscriminately, while there was the need to provide litter bins at vantage points in the market.

The head of the Information Department at the Assembly who declined to speak asked this reporter to see the officer in charge of the Environmental and Sanitation Department.

“I need to get authorization from the Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) before I can speak to that”, the officer told the Ghanaian Times.

But, the MCE could not be reached as she was unavailable at the time the reporter was leaving the assembly.

When the Ghanaian Times visited the market on Monday, it observed that some traders displayed their wares and cooked foods close to the open gutters.

Heaps of waste materials that had decorated the market, coupled with the pungent smell made the market environment unhealthy to trade-in.

More disturbing was how refuse left on the grounds entangled pedestrians when crossing the road from the market.

Yaa Asantewaa, a vendor lamented “when it rains, the smelly wastewater from the gutters overflows to where we have displayed our wares and this causes a lot of discomfort.”

She reiterated the consequences they suffered as traders in the market as a result of the open gutters and filth, adding that “previously I could sell all my stuff within a short period of time but now it takes a while to sell them due to the unhygienic environment.”

Mrs Agyeiwaa Kobi, a food vendor indicated that she had lost the majority of her customers as a result of the situation in the market as it posed a health risk to them.

Mrs Kobi said that the stench from the uncollected rubbish and the ones piled up drove away the customers, thereby affecting their daily earnings.

“When it rains, portions of rubbish are being carried away to settle at unsuitable places such as the gutters and homes causing danger to livelihoods and the country’s economy at large,” she added.

Mr Nimo Kwaa-Appiah lamented that it was an eyesore and a pain considering the stench and flies from different heaps of refuse around the market, hence their call on the La Nkwantanang Madina Municipal Assembly to clear the rubbish in order to avert the outburst of diseases.

Mr Kwabena Quansah blamed the Assembly for the situation, stating that “we pay our taxes to the government but we still suffer this fate because the Assembly which is supposed to see to this has failed to perform its roles.”

He, therefore, pleaded with the Assembly to, as a matter of urgency, resolve the situation and sensitize the public on the need to ensure good sanitation practices.