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Traders at the Kejetia market have a debt of $5.8 million to pay off, which includes fees and taxes for services provided by market contractors.
The electricity company alone is owing more than 2.1 million dollars. The debt was accumulated between May and September 2021, when market vendors refused to pay bills and taxes to market managers in protest of the market’s failure to secure meters for each of the 7,800 stalls. The Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) cut electricity to the Kejetia Market on Wednesday due to accrued bills, leaving the market in the dark.
The first floor of the Market was severely impacted, bringing the market to a halt for over six hours. The facility was reconnected to the national grid after the City Mayor intervened. After the traders’ agitation, Samuel Pyne met with them to discuss a possible solution.
The Mayor attempted to persuade the traders to begin repaying their debts while they awaited the installation of separate meters. The traders, on the other hand, argue that before they begin paying the bills, the market’s administration must first sign a contract for the installation of separate meters.
Businesses at the facility have collected bills totaling more than 2.1 million cedis in the last five months.
If they do not pay portion of their obligations, ECG may turn off power to the market again on Tuesday, October 19, 2021. Ahmed Kwarteng, the Operations Manager for the Kejetia Traders Association, says that they will only begin paying if the Kumasi City Market Management executes a contract for separate meters.
They urge City Mayor Samuel Pyne to persuade ECG to extend the repayment grace period.
