Business Operators Begs Trade Fair Mgt. Over Eviction

Businesses operating at the Trade Fair Centre (TFC), have pleaded with the management of the centre to reconsider the decision to evict them from the place.

The over 250 entities established there have been given up to the coming December, to pack out to allow for the re-development of the centre.

Mr. Peter Awoonor Williams, Chairman of Trade Fair City Tenants Association, said this could lead to people losing their jobs and worsen the unemployment situation.

Addressing a press conference in Accra, he said each of the businesses was employing not less than five employees and they had dependants.

He added that they had also been building new office structures, some of these were nearing completion and the huge investment could go to the waste should the management stick to its decision to kick them out.

They were not opposed to the idea of re-developing the centre, but had problems with the approach being adopted.

Mr. Williams said it was reasonable that they were adequately engaged by the management to find a more acceptable way of doing things.

It would be most unfair for anybody to treat businesses that had been operating legally at the centre for years as squatters.

The re-development of the TFC could take between two to three years.

Mr. Williams also complained about the increase of their rent from GH¢1,200.00 a quarter to GH¢25,000.00 and said there could not be any justification for that.

The matter was reported to the Rent Control Department and a meeting arranged between the management and the tenants but the former for unexplained reasons refused to attend.

The tenants had petitioned the Trade and Industry Ministry and were yet to receive a response.

Source: GNA