Some traders at the New Kejetia Market in Kumasi are resisting management’s lock up of their shops over non-payment of premiums.
Some of the traders who resumed work, Wednesday morning, to find their stalls locked, forcefully unlocked the padlocks.
Managers of the facility say an agreement was reached with traders to pay their shop premiums in a year, but most of them have failed to pay, three years into operations.
The traders are, however, demanding compensation for demolition of their shops in the spaces they earlier occupied.
Traders at Kejetia pay between Gh25,000 and Gh40,000 per annum as premium.
They are expected to pay a total amount of 169 million cedis as premium to the government.
But less than 90million has been received despite an agreement to pay within a year.
Management needs to access 20 percent of the amount for the maintenance of the Kejetia Market.
Manager of the Kofi City Markets Limited, Kofi Duffour Addai, says the lock up of shops is to compel the traders to honour payment.
Leadership of the traders has, however, raised issues of compensation.
According to them, the government promised to compensate traders whose shops were destroyed to pave the way for the market reconstruction.
Despite the agreement, the government has failed to pay the over 2,000 shop owners, hence their decision to default in payment of the premium.
President of Federation of Kumasi Traders, Nana Prempeh, says the traders had to unlock the shops because they deemed the lock up as unlawful.
Traders relocated from the Kumasi Central Market to the new Kejetia Market are also reluctant to pay because they are unclear of plans to return to their former trading spaces when the second phase of the redevelopment project is completed.
But management of the facility entreats the traders to pay the premium while the government works on the compensation.
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