By Asare Derrick Kofi (UniMAC-IJ)

Osu Market in central Accra, Ghana, is a very busy place which is facing significant sanitation and absence of facilities challenges. Despite its importance to the community, it has also caused negative effect to the people at the market place.

“We try our best to keep it clean, but it’s still not enough,” says Mrs. Comfort Akyena, the acting queen mother of the market. “The gutter is not wide enough, and rubbish gets stuck in it when there’s a heavy rain. This produces mosquitoes which causes threat to our heath.

Vendors and market women have called for an immediate changes and better sanitation practices, but efforts to improve sanitation are limited by political interference. “Party politics should be out of local governance,” says Assemblyman George Abeiku Annan. “The market was awarded to a contractor for reconstruction last year, but no progress has been made.”

The lack of toilet facilities and electricity in the market place has also been a major concern.  Sellers pay market fees but the is no improvement. They have to walk a distance away from the market to use the toilet, and pay an amount before getting access to the place.

The kayayei are young girls from the northern regions who work in the market place. Some vendors appreciate their assistance, others see them to be annoying because they have overtaken the market and turned it into their homes, making the place dirty.

In conclusion, the market people want the government to help in providing better facility and to improve sanitation in the market place