It has been a month since the Pedestrian Shopping Mall at the Kwame Nkrumah interchange was razed down.
The accident destroyed products running into millions of cedis. As an intervention to cushion the devastated traders, the government promised to compensate them. Each of the traders received 2,000 cedis from government.
A month into the disaster, Radio Ghana finds out from the traders how they are resettling with these monies.
Located within the Korle Klottey Municipal area, the Odawna Pedestrian shopping mall, near the Kwame Nkrumah Interchange in Accra, accommodate traders who deal in footwear, second-hand clothes, cosmetics, groceries, home appliances among others.
At the time of my visit, debris from the November 18, fire outbreak had been cleared, and leveling completed. A cursory look at the once vibrant and congested market gave it the semblance of a primary school park. Though all entries and exits had been locked up there were small openings that provided commuters easy access to adjoining buildings.
The Traders were not spotted on the land that once housed them, however, they had instead put up temporary structures on the Pedestrian walkway making movement on the already congested area difficult for commuters. I was told traders who could not secure space on the walkway have had to seek alternatives elsewhere or stay at home. Interacting with them, on the compensation as assured by president Akufo Addo, during a visit, the traders told me per the agreement, payment was to be made by the National Board for Small Scale Industries (NBSSI) and Microfinance and Small Loans Centre (MASLOC).
The two institutions had earlier assured the trader’s payment would be effected in batches with the first batch receiving payment on December 3. According to the victims who received payment from MASLOC would automatically not receive compensation from the NBSSI. However, they claimed this is just the opposite as some traders who received compensation from MASLOC have also benefited from NBSSI.
It was an emotional moment for some of them who told me they have lost all their livelihoods to the fire, yet denied any compensation. Whiles some blamed it on poor leadership, others attributed it to greed and self-seeking interest of some persons.
