A year after the Akyem Oda market fire, the market women have cleared the air on funds allocated to victims of the disaster.
The traders, on September 13, 2021, lost properties of great worth to an inferno that razed the market if it would be recalled.
The President of the Republic, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, upon hearing the news paid a visit to the community to sympathise with the victims.
He promised the people of government’s financial support which would be delivered through two state agencies: Masloc and Ghana Enterprise Agency.
An amount of Gh¢4.2 million was subsequently disbursed by the financial institutions in fulfilment of the President’s promise in October 2021, to help restore their economic activities.
After the disbursement, allegations of misappropriation of the funds were levelled against the Member of Parliament for the area, Alexander Akwasi Acquah.
The legislator was alleged to have given portions of the funds to some persons who were not affected by the fire, including the New Patriotic Party’s Women Organizer, Madam Akua Safoa.
But refuting the claims in interviews with the local media the market women said the allegations were falsehoods fabricated by unscrupulous persons to dent the images of the officials.
According to them, the financial institutions directed them to open accounts with the Ghana Commercial Bank from where they would receive the funds, which they acted on and received same.
They intimated that the monies were distributed in proportion to the lost properties and as such some victims even received Gh¢2,000.
Thus, they challenged anyone who claims not to have received their portion of the funds to come out about it.
Meanwhile, a year after the incident, the market remains unusable due to its abandoned state. The debris has not been cleared from the inner perimeter.
The market women have thus resorted to unauthorised areas to sell their products, a situation which has caused congestion on roads in the area.
The situation has also forced many traders out of business because they have no convenient place to market their products.
They thus called on the president to again intervene and fix the Akyem Oda market for their use so their businesses can bounce back.
