Traders at the Agbogbloshie market in Accra have expressed concerns over how parts of the market have been filled with clogged drains, a situation they attribute to the persistent flooding they experience whenever it rains.
Their problem, according to them, is compounded by the filth in the area.
In an interview with JoyNews, the traders asked city authorities to put their taxes to fruitful use by ensuring the drains are desilted to enhance their trading activities.
A tomato seller whose name was given as Elizabeth, complained about how the taxes paid to the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) are not used for their intended purposes.
“The AMA used to clean our gutters but they no longer do. We now have to make contributions of as much as GH¢500 to GH¢600 just to get our gutters cleaned and free from refuse.
“Instead, they give us tickets and take taxes from us, but they don’t desilt the gutters and when it rains, this place gets so flooded you can’t walk through,†she said.
“Gutters of Agbogbloshie are chocked with refuse, so when it rains the gutters get full and the area gets flooded. The waste collectors are to be blamed for that,†another trader, Asantewaa added.
Some of the traders and shoppers have suggested the provision of waste bins to prevent indiscriminate dumping of rubbish by passers-by.
They believe some people intentionally litter around because there are no available bins they can drop their refuse in.
“This is the jurisdiction of the AMA and it is their duty to keep this place clean, but we the drivers rather make contributions for our refuse to be taken away.
“If they won’t clean the gutters for us, they should at least provide garbage trucks to take the refuse away,†a driver in the market, Kwaku, appealed.
Globally, there are about 8.3 billion tons of plastics in the world. Some 6.3 billion tons of that is trash, and Ghana holds a significant portion of the figure.
