Kumasi Market Adopts Double Track System

By Justice Dzido On Apr 8, 2020

The Kumasi Central Market has adopted a double-track system, expected to divide the market women into two different tracks; this means that while one track is in the market trading, the other track would be home awaiting their turn.

The trading rotation, introduced by the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA), is in order to observe the physical and personal distance protocols, which forms a crucial part of the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

Presently, traders in the Kumasi Central Market are being reorganized into smaller groups so that they will trade in turns to help stop congestion, which endangers human lives the market.

Before the KMAs version of the Double Track is officially rolled out, the busy market had been closed temporarily to enable the grouping of traders to take place smoothly.

Explaining the closure of the market, Chief Executive of the KMA, Kumasi Mayor, Osei Assibey Antwi, said traders were clearly disregarding social distancing protocol suggested by the World Health Organization (WHO)

According to him, his outfit continually educated the traders to practice the social distancing protocol to prevent the spread of the Covid-19 virus but their message usually fell on deaf ears.

The Metropolitan Security Council (METSEC) and the leadership of the traders during a recent crunch meeting therefore decided to close the market to prevent the spread of the deadly virus.

He said starting from Tuesday, April 7, 2020, the market was closed “to enable traders reorganize themselves into groups to trade in turns to reduce congestion”, adding that the KMA and the leaders of the market reached the decision.

In a press release, the Kumasi Mayor stated that “the leadership of the traders are to meet and set the modalities for the rotation of the various groups and update METSEC”.

Osei Assibey Antwi also stated emphatically that trading along the margins of road at the Central Market and the Central Business District (CBD) is still prohibited and offenders will be dealt with accordingly.