The Kotokuraba market, located in the city centre of Cape coast, will be reconstructed into a modernised complex in the near future, bringing in a promising picture for the trader community.
The twilight of this construction project appeared on the horizon for over 1500 traders selling in this market, as a Chinese construction company came in weeks ago and tore down the roofs of the stalls. Traders were asked to relocate to the nearby two stations and their original stalls were demolished to pave way for the new market that will be starting construction, with a genuine hope, within the next few months.
"The new complex of Kotokuraba market will be a community-like area where good facilities are made available to the traders." Said Mrs. Christina Amayeh, the member of trader's association technical committee, " We are being really hopeful and looking forward to having hospitals, banks and schools in this new complex." The new construction plan of Kotokuraba market will change the crowded busy streets where taxis and pedestrians have to fight their ways through, to a brand new community with important facilities and infrastructures that would largely improve the level of convenience to the traders' life, as well as provide easier access to the education and health system. This new market could also very likely become an catalyst of the tourist industry in Cape Coast, since the market, where local and traditional Ghanaian culture can be experienced, would be built into one of the major tourist attractions in the city.
This construction project is one single slice of the enormous 1.3 billion-investment plan between Ghanaian and Chinese governments. As part of the government agreement, the Kotokuraba market will be financed with the loan provided by China EXIM Bank. The officials of the EXIM bank examined the market site on 3rd, March, 2012, accompanied by the Mayor Hon. Anthony Egyir Aikins. China EXIM Bank, the Export-Import Bank of China, is one of the three institutional banks in China to provide financial support for the export of Chinese products or services to other developing countries. This visit was an indicator that the government of Cape Coast was making an effort to push the construction project forward. As the Mayor promised in March, the reconstruction would be fulfilled by the end of 2012.
Although the promising future for the new Kotokuraba market is depicted by the Cape Coast government, Mrs. Christina Amayeh, the member of the trader's association expressed her concern over how exactly the plans will be carried out: "Even though some traders were already relocated to the other parts of the market, and the stalls were demolished, we are still unclear when the construction will start and finish." Mr. Kingsley K. Mefful, the Assembly Member, also complained about the miscommunication between the government and the traders: "The traders were not told, before or after relocation, when they will be able to move back to the new market, or how the new market would look like." Many traders worried that the relocation would overshadow their business income and bring inconvenience and financial lost to their lives. Some of traders expressed concern and anger, but there were not many choices for them at the moment but to relocate their stores as the government instructed, while keep their fingers crossed for the best outcome.
The deep concerns from the traders was an implication of the potentially shakytrust in Cape Coast people for their government, at least, in how well the government could keep their promises. A bigger and more beautiful picture was painted by the Ghanaian government in early 2011, that 30,000 housing units were to be constructed across the country. The project was funded by a Korean group called STX for 10 billion USD. As the government promised, "to leave a strong and positive legacy in the history of our dear country", public expectations were built up through the course of 12 months. When the project was abolished in Jan 2012 due to a "boardroom wrangling" between the Ghanaian company and Korean counterpart, people reacted negatively to the unexpected collapse, and the trust level to the government promises was inevitably decreased.
The clock was ticking again, when the government indicated that the reconstruction of the Kotokuraba market was a major promise to Cape Coast. It was indeed a delicate and tricky task for the government to balance how much expectations they should build up to win the hearts of the Ghanaians, versus how low-key they need to perform this time in case the project fell apart again like STX. Especially when the new election is coming up in 2012, government could very much find itself walking on thin ices again, facing the loan of a gigantic foreign investment and the skeptical eyes of local citizens.
The government may have decided to play safe this time. According to the Cape Coast Mayor Anthony Egyir Aikins, parliament will need to give approval for the loan from China EXIM Bank, before the construction of the new Kotokuraba market can start. The timeline of this project, therefore, was still pending until the parliament resumed and reached an agreement. The Mayor provided no further comments on other details of this project, including how much money will be spent on the new Kotokuraba market, or when the construction will be finished.
Now in Kotokuraba market, the relocated traders are crammed in a smaller space than they used to work in, expecting to hear back from the government, for the announcement of the commencement day of the construction. The traders' association made a plea to urge the government to speed up the project, and communicate more with the association about the details of the upcoming plan.
At the same time, the traders' association advised the traders to have more patience for the government and the construction, since the clearing out of the old market site could be a strong indicator that the government has been making efforts to push the project forward. If the government was able to keep the promise as they announced to the public in 2008, it will be only a matter of time, before the new, well-facilitated Kotokuraba market is rising from the horizon of Cape Coast.
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