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Takoradi Jubilee Park Not Market

Some residents in Sekondi-Takoradi have expressed their unhappiness about the current usage of the Takoradi Jubilee Park as a market centre.

Date Created : 3/22/2023 12:00:00 AM : Story Author : NewsGhana/Ghanadistricts.com

It would be recalled that the Jubilee Parks were monumental projects undertaken by the John Agyekum Kuffour-led administration in some parts of the country when Ghana turned 50 years in 2007 for the hosting of national and ceremonial events.

However, the Takoradi Jubilee Park was converted into a temporary trade centre during the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic to create more space for traders to do business.

The move was also part of efforts to help prevent the spread of the disease among the market women and other traders. So, now that cases of the epidemic had gone down drastically or none are being recorded, some residents have expressed the view that it is about time the traders went back to where they were brought from.

Some of the residents asserted that many of them could not participate in the Regional celebration of the country’s 66th independence anniversary celebration because they did not know where the event took place.

“We did not even know the region celebrated the Independence Day anniversary on March 6 this year because on that day, the market women were still at Jubilee Park. It was later we realized that the ceremony took place in Sekondi”, some of them lamented.

Nana Egya Kwamina XI, a Divisional Chief of the Ahanta Traditional Council called on city authorities to clear the traders from the Jubilee Park to allow it to be used for its purpose of hosting national and ceremonial events.

He was of the view that since there are still more spaces at the Apremdo Market, popularly called “Abenbebom” in his traditional area, the trades could be moved there to trade rather than allowing them to take over the Jubilee Park.

“I am appealing to the political heads within the Western Region to immediately return the park to its original use”.

He said, “There are more spaces at the Apremdo market which can contain the traders and so I do not see the reason to still allow the trades to continue to do business at the Takoradi Jubilee Park”.

According to the chief, taxpayers’ monies were used for both projects to serve different purposes “But here is the case, the Apremdo market is abandoned, and the Jubilee Park is rather serving as a market”.

Meanwhile, the Effia-Kwesimintsim Municipal Assembly has indicated that plans are afoot to relocate the market women from the Jubilee Park.