Livestock traders operating along the Kanda Highway in Accra have defended their presence in the area despite mounting calls from parliamentary and other sector authorities for the temporary market to be dismantled over concerns about sanitation and urban planning.
The traders argue that the absence of a designated livestock market within the municipality has forced them to use the roadside location, particularly during the peak Eid period when demand for animals rises.
Speaking to Channel One News, trader Abdul Jalal Moomin said the lack of an official facility in communities such as Mamobi has left them with no alternative trading space.
“We don’t have anywhere like how Ashaiman has. Here in Mamobi, we don’t have that, so we are also trying to at least send something home. I hope by next year we will find a better place,” he said.
Another trader, Murtala Beere, appealed for leniency from authorities, stressing that their operations are temporary and limited to the festive season.
“The government should understand us a little because we don’t always come to the street to sell. We only do this for just two weeks in the year,” he said.
Their concerns come after Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) called on the Greater Accra Regional Minister to urgently intervene and shut down or relocate the livestock market near the National Mosque at Kanda.
The Committee says the growing activity in the area is affecting sanitation, traffic flow, and the broader urban development plans for Accra.
Vice Chairman of the Committee and Member of Parliament for Mpraeso, Davis Opoku Ansah, described the situation as worrying, calling for swift action to restore order.
PAC has urged city authorities to either relocate the traders or dismantle the market entirely in order to protect the capital’s environmental and planning standards.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Food and Agriculture has directed all temporary livestock markets operating without the required permits to cease operations and dismantle structures after the Eid celebrations.
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