Three years ago, the old Agbogbloshie onion market and scrap yard was cleared in a major demolition exercise, aiming to pave the way for a modern health facility under the Agenda 111 initiative.
However, the ambitious plans for the 80-acre reclaimed land appear to have stalled, leaving the area in a state of uncertainty.
JoyNews’ Sweety Aborchie, brings us up-to-date on the current condition of the site and the lives displaced by the demolition in this feature dubbed “Agbogbloshie, still a scrap yard.”
The old Agbogbloshie onion market, often referred to as “Africa’s e-waste nightmare,” “a digital dumping ground,” and “one of the ten most polluted places in the world,” was demolished on July 1, 2021.
The government, led by the former Greater Accra Regional Minister, Henry Quartey, mobilised bulldozers and military officers as part of the decongestion exercise “Let’s Make Accra Work.”
The demolition led to the relocation of traders to Adjen Kotoku and Dominase.
Three years later, many scrap dealers and traders maintain they were not pre-informed of the demolition exercise, leaving them as the most affected victims. Yakubu, one of the affected scrap dealers, recounted the harsh experiences during the demolition.
He raised concerns about the unfair treatment of scrap dealers and shared stories of despair about colleagues who turned to drugs like tramadol and went mad due to the shock of losing their livelihoods. He mentioned how his life has been reduced to practically nothing, from making a minimum of 4,000 cedis in two weeks to barely making ends meet.
Abu, another victim, reiterated the joblessness they have experienced due to the demolition.
He spoke about the unfair treatment by the government and the current waste state of the 80-acre land, which was supposed to be a modern hospital site under Agenda 111.
Habibu, who used to sell onions at the old Agbogbloshie onion market, mentioned that despite being offered land at Adjen Kotoku, they are unable to trade successfully due to the distance and lack of customers. He lamented the damage to their lives and pleaded for the government to allow them to return to the 80-acre yard.
Saliyah, another onion seller who have returned from Adjen Kotoku, managed to find a spot in the Agbogbloshie market, shared that he no longer makes as much profit.
The 80-acre reclaimed land is deteriorating, regressing to its previous state with open defecation and unauthorised dumping.
This starkly contrasts the ambitious goals of the Greater Accra Regional Coordinating Council (GARCC) in 2021, which included plans for a modern health facility under the government’s Agenda 111 initiative. The grand vision of transforming Agbogbloshie remains unfulfilled.
The land now symbolizes broken promises, with lives disrupted and dreams demolished. The government’s promises of a modern health facility and redevelopment seem a distant reality as the site deteriorates.
Meanwhile, some scrap dealers have returned to the yard while others have found a spot a few meters away from the reclaimed yard to ply their trade.
In response to this, the current Greater Accra Regional Minister mentioned that he will soon visit the site again to remove the scrap dealers who have returned to Agbogbloshie.
Source: Sweety Aborchie
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