General News of Thursday, 3 March 2005

Source: GNA

AMA would reconstruct Rawlings Park - Mayor

Accra, Mar. 3, GNA- The Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) on Thursday said it has plans of reconstructing Rawlings car park in order to make judicious use of the land to help address the needs of the people within the metropolis.

AMA intends to put up a five-storey building on Rawlings Park, which it described as a waste of land.

Mr. Nii Adjiri Blankson, AMA Chief Executive, made this known at a meeting with a delegation of three different trade Associations, who were affected by the decongestion exercise started by the AMA in February.

Mr. Blankson said the building would comprise shopping halls, offices, and car parks.

He said the Assembly also looked forward to build a new market behind the Ghana Commercial Bank at Kwame Nkrumah Circle for traders who hawk along the streets and unauthorised places.

According to him, the projects would take about three months to complete.

The traders, including members of the Street Vendors Association, Positive Traders Association and the United Petty Traders Association, said the meeting was to find ways to resettle them at more acceptable and convenient locations.

The traders pleaded with the AMA to consider their plight and help resolve the issue with magnanimity.

The Metropolitan Chief Executive later took the traders around some of the Assembly's constructed markets such as the Freedom, Tuesday and Dansoman markets and asked them to avail themselves of the facilities there.

Meanwhile, Mr Ken Eshun, one of the traders told the GNA that all the markets they visited were fully occupied and have no space for them.

"Trading activities in these markets are not as vibrant as in the city centre where we use to sell our wares," he said.