Traders at the Odawna Market in Accra are threatening to stage a naked protest on November 18 if the government fails to fulfil its promise of renovating the market and addressing their demands.
In 2020, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo visited the market after a fire outbreak destroyed hundreds of stalls.
He assured that the government, through the National Board for Small Scale Industries (NBSSI), would urgently provide support to the over 3,000 affected individuals.
Veronica Boakye, Chairperson at the Odawna Pedestrian Shopping Mall, expressed her dissatisfaction with the authorities’ response and the unfavourable business conditions, which had caused some traders to leave the market.
“We pay a ticket of GH2.50 a day. So we are doing everything within our means to support the government. But because we don’t have a spokesperson we have been neglected. So we will speak for ourselves God willing next month. All of us will do a naked demonstration to show all Ghanaians that we are losing our property.”
“God willing, next month, 18th November will be our birthday which marks the day when our market got burnt. But it won’t be a birthday where we will wear white but we will protest naked to press home our demands,” she stated.