The biggest and busiest market in the in the Shama district of the Western Region, the Beposo Market, is engulfed in filth.
According to residents in the area, Zoomlion Company Limited; the company contracted to clean the market, only cleans the market, which is located at the center of the town, a day before market days.
Positioned on the border of the Western and Central regions, the market hosts traders from both regions, who go there to sell their wares on Tuesdays and Fridays.
With many farmlands situated along the Pra River, which is a few meters away from the town, the market is famed in the two regions for its freshly produced food crops such as vegetables.
The market is full of with rotten oranges, heaps of empty boxes, wrappers and papers, refuse containers overflowing with rubbish.
In the midst of this, however, seamstresses and hairdressers continue to ply their trade, raising fears of possible outbreak of diseases.
Speaking to Citi News, nearby residents asked local authorities to call Zoomlion Ghana Limited to order. They say the habit of the waste company to only clean the market and its surroundings, a day before market days, is a threat to their health.
“They (Zoomlion Company Limited) have not declared their intention not to clean the market again. It’s a usual thing. No matter the amount of refuse and the smell that emanates from it, it is only until the day before a market day that they clean. Sometimes they do not clean at all. It will be disastrous should any outbreak of diseases”, A hairdresser lamented.
At full capacity, the market could host more than thousand traders at a time and there are worries that a disease outbreak could prove quite fatal for the city and the traders.
By: Obrempong Yaw Ampofo/citifmonline.com/Ghana