On Monday, April 22, hundreds of sheds at the Kwadaso onion market in the Ashanti Region were demolished as traders hurried to salvage their belongings.

The Ashanti Regional Security Council (REGSEC) issued a directive ordering onion traders to vacate the market, citing security concerns posed by their operations in the area.

The council noted that the parking of heavy-duty trucks on parts of the road near the market was leading to vehicular congestion, particularly during peak hours. Additionally, the council attributed a recent fatal accident involving a 45-year-old woman to the traders' activities.

Despite being given until April 21, 2024, to move to a new location at Atwima Takyiman, many traders were reluctant to relocate.

Armed police and military personnel were deployed to oversee the forced relocation and demolition of the market.

Affected traders expressed their frustrations to Citi News, stating that they were not officially notified and given adequate time to prepare for the move. They claimed they were under the impression that they would be able to purchase the land and were in the process of raising funds for the purchase.

One said, “We were at the workplace and we saw the military and police are all over with a bulldozer that they are going to, that the regional minister and MCE are relocating us which we were not aware of that. We just heard it on the radio and you cannot relocate somebody based on what he heard on the radio, you have to give the person an official notice and give you time, maybe three months or four months that we are relocating you before you can relocate us.”

“You cannot just come this morning and say you are relocating us, that you got a place at Atwima-Takyiman and that we should go there, which is not fair. And here, we were told that they were selling the place to us, that’s what our elders told us and we were gathering money to pay for it.”