The Member of Parliament for the Obuasi West constituency, Honourable Kwaku Kwarteng helped Citizens outline plans to revive the Kunka Market and Lorry Terminal in Obuasi-Ashanti.
The MP who is the Deputy Minister of Finance was contributing to a discussion at a Town Hall meeting to disseminate findings from a Social Audit carried out on the non-functionality of the Kunka Market in Obuasi.
The program was organised by the Social Audit Committee (SAC); an independent citizen-based committee charged with the responsibility of evaluating the performance of Public Actors and Metropolitan Municipal and District Assemblies in Ghana. This is a Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development (MLGRD) and the Local Governance Network (LOGNet) initiative with finding from the German Development Cooperation (GIZ), through the Center for Local Governance Advocacy and the Social Support Foundation (SSF).
Stakeholders bemoaned the lack of activity in the Kunka Market since its commissioning on Friday, 26th January, 2018. Hon. Kwaku Kwarteng, the MP said there is the need for stakeholders to double their efforts to make the Market and Lorry Terminal economically viable.
He led the Stakeholders to agree on next steps including the formation of a Market Management Committee, and recommended the inclusion of Traditional leaders in the said Committee to ensure its effectiveness and sustainability. The Gyaasehene, Nana Twum Barimah, the Assembly Member, Hon. Francis Appianim and Nana Kwabena Ponko II, the Chief of Kunka appreciated the Obuasi Municipal Assembly, the MP and SAC for their respective efforts and commitment to ensure the functionality of the Market and Lorry Terminal for the benefit of the Kunka and Obuasi Communities.
The Obuasi Municipal Coordinating Director, Mr. Francis Dwira Darko, accepted the responsibility as commissioned to form the committee, review the outstanding works at the site within two weeks and engage the Contractors on the best way forward to make the Market functional.
The MPs timely intervention on the modalities to make the Kunka market work again followed the findings made by the Social Audit Committee which included;
- Poor condition of access road/ route from the main road leadingto the Market
- High cost of the allocated stores even with poor visibility of the project
- Community members trading in front of homes instead of the market.
The Kunka Market and Lorry Terminal Project was funded with the Urban Development Grant and Public-Private Partnership with Mr. Job Osei Tutu as the operator, who also pledged his commitment to make the market functional and pleaded stakeholder support to make the Kunka Market a beneficial Public asset.
The Town hall meeting was fruitful, bringing together Citizens, Women, Persons with Disability and Traditional leaders, in addition to the Heads of Departments, Assembly Members and the Media.