AMA Rejects Discrimination Claims Over Agbogbloshie Market
AMA Rejects Claims of Discriminating Against Konkombas Over Agbogbloshie 24-Hour Market
The Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) is pushing back firmly against accusations that it’s unfairly targeting the Konkomba community as part of its plans to demolish structures at Agbogbloshie for a proposed 24-Hour Market.
The accusations came from the Minority in Parliament, who claimed AMA had specifically marked shops and residential structures belonging to Konkomba traders at the Agbogbloshie Yam Market for demolition, while leaving other parts of Agbogbloshie untouched.
Bimbilla MP and former Defence Minister Dominic Nitiwul led the Minority caucus on an inspection of the area, and he’s since called on President John Dramani Mahama to halt the planned demolition entirely.
In a statement signed by Head of Public Affairs Gilbert Nii Ankrah on September 16, AMA rejected the claims outright, insisting that far from ignoring affected communities, the Assembly has spent over three months actively engaging traditional authorities, market leaders, traders, occupants, and other stakeholders ahead of the redevelopment.
According to AMA, these consultations were led personally by Mayor Michael Kpakpo Allotey and covered a wide range of issues project design, land requirements, implementation plans, trader relocation, and steps to minimise disruption to existing businesses.
The AMA, therefore, wishes to state categorically that the project has not been pursued without consultation, but through sustained dialogue and consensus-building aimed at incorporating and addressing the concerns of affected persons before physical works commence, the Assembly said.
AMA laid out a fairly detailed record of the consultations that have taken place so far. On July 9, 2026, the Mayor briefed the Ga Mantse, King Tackie Teiko Tsuru II, and the Ga Traditional Council on the proposed market, its land requirements, and implementation plans.
He then met directly with traders at Agbogbloshie, where the project’s contractor was formally introduced and further details of the redevelopment were shared.
On July 13, AMA met with leadership of the Agbogbloshie Yam Market at City Hall to discuss the proposed development and how it would affect land currently occupied by the market.
By August 4, the Assembly had also met with chiefs and traditional leaders at Agbogbloshie, as part of ongoing consultations tied to the broader 24-Hour Economy initiative. That meeting led to the formation of a nine-member committee tasked with overseeing key aspects of the project.
Following all this engagement, AMA issued a one-month notice ending August 31, 2026 to traders and occupants within the portions of Agbogbloshie identified as part of the project site.
According to AMA, the full 24-Hour Market project will require approximately four acres of land. So far, about 3.2 acres have been identified, including three plots totalling 0.48 acres within the existing Yam Market area itself.
The Assembly acknowledged that this land requirement has been a central point of discussion with Yam Market leadership, but stressed that the goal was never to arbitrarily push traders out — rather, to find practical arrangements that let the project move forward while genuinely protecting affected people’s livelihoods.
AMA also disclosed that representatives who took part in the consultations received transportation allowances of at least GH¢3,000 per meeting, throughout the more than three-month engagement process.
According to the Assembly, these sessions gave stakeholders real opportunities to raise concerns, ask questions, and put forward proposals on issues like land use, trader movement, keeping business activity running, and how implementation should unfold in an orderly way.
There’s also been agreement among stakeholders, AMA said, on the need for dialogue to continue throughout the project’s implementation along with a shared understanding that any decisions affecting existing traders should go through direct engagement with their recognised leadership.
AMA didn’t leave much room for ambiguity in its position. The record demonstrates a sustained consultation process involving several engagements over a period exceeding three months, the statement said, directly countering suggestions that affected stakeholders were ignored or shut out of the process.
Beyond addressing the controversy, AMA reiterated the broader vision behind the project. The 24-Hour Market is intended to bring modern infrastructure that supports extended commercial hours, improves sanitation and safety, organises trading activity more effectively, and creates new employment and economic opportunities for the area.
The Assembly said it plans to keep engaging Yam Market leadership, affected traders, traditional authorities, and other stakeholders in the lead-up to major construction work, and urged the public to rely on official AMA communications rather than unverified claims circulating about the project.
