Hundreds of traders displaced by the Kejetia Phase II Market redevelopment are pleading with contractor CONTRACTA not to pull out of Kumasi as funding delays push the company to the brink.
On Tuesday, June 9, the Combined Kumasi Market Union marched to CONTRACTA’s Kumasi office with a petition, urging the firm to keep its doors open.
“Don’t Close Your Office”
“We are here to plead with them not to close their offices,” said Emelia Kwofie Asare, Secretary of the Combined Kumasi Central Market Traders Union, as she handed the petition to company representatives, her voice breaking.
For the traders, CONTRACTA’s local office is more than an address. It represents the last link to a project meant to transform their cramped, chaotic market into a modern trading hub. That vision is now under threat.
Months of delayed government payments have halted construction. With cash flow drying up, CONTRACTA has started cutting costs — including jobs.150 Jobs Lost, Thousands of Livelihoods at Risk
The contractor has already laid off about 150 workers while work remains suspended. Traders fear a full exit would kill any hope of quick recovery. “Even if work resumes today, it will take time to reassemble the workforce,” Asare warned.
“We will continue to press the government to honour its obligations so that work can resume immediately.”
Kejetia Phase II was designed to expand trading space and boost commerce in Ghana’s second-largest city. Instead, traders are stranded — some in temporary stalls, others watching their businesses collapse.
Contractor Caught Between Promises and Reality
Receiving the petition, CONTRACTA consultant Emmanuel Danso tried to calm the crowd.
“We’ve received the letter from the leadership. The content will be forwarded to the head office, and whatever comes out of it, we will get back to them,” he said.
Danso added that the Ministry of Local Government and the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly supervise the project, and copies of the petition have been sent to regional authorities.
Government Under Pressure
The pressure now shifts to the government. Traders are urging officials to release outstanding funds before CONTRACTA shuts its Kumasi office permanently.
For market women like Asare, it’s a race against time. If the money doesn’t come, their market — and their future — could be lost.
