The Municipal Chief Executive for Ayawaso North in the Greater Accra Region, Haruna Mohammed Awal, has appealed to occupants of a parcel of land at Kasoa Kuda at Maamobi, the capital of the municipality, to vacate the area for the construction of a market facility. 

He said the land, acquired by an Executive Instrument in 1963, was intended for a basic school, a polyclinic and a market, with the school and polyclinic having been successfully established.

Mr Awal explained that the market project was abandoned following the 1966 coup d’etat that toppled the government of the country’s first President, Dr Kwame Nkrumah, insisting that this was the opportune time to realise the project to enhance the economic situation of the people in the municipality.

Parts of the land have since been encroached upon by members of the public.

Engagement

Mr Awal made the appeal at a community engagement at Maamobi.

He said the municipality, which was created in 2018, had been without a market, and that this was the time for the land acquired by the government 59 years ago to be used for its intended purpose.

The MCE stated that the assembly had engaged with various stakeholders, including Assembly Members, traditional authorities, the Ayawaso North Council of Zongo Chiefs, imams and pastors, to ensure the successful execution of the market project.

Funds

Mr Awal said the government had already made funds available for the construction of the market under the government’s 24-Hour Economy flagship programme.

"We cannot miss out on this opportunity but to appeal to the occupants who are temporarily occupying the land to vacate to make way for the project.

"We are humbly appealing to you to reason with the assembly by vacating the land to ensure the fulfilment of the dream of the President, which each and every one of us here present, and those unborn, stand to benefit from," he added.

Benefits

The MCE said the construction of the market was expected to create over 15,000 jobs and positively impact the unemployment situation in the municipality, with the prospect of increasing the assembly's revenue base.

The project, he said, was part of the assembly's developmental plan to promote local economic development as mandated by Section 12 (1) (b) of the Local Governance Act 2016, Act 936, as amended.