The traders who were impacted by the recent fire that destroyed Accra’s Kantamanto Market and their leadership are at odds over how to distribute the money that was raised to reconstruct the establishment.
The Kantamanto Market was confused on Friday when the market leaders called a meeting to disburse a GH¢1 million cash donation from President John Dramani Mahama.
Each of the 7,000 traders who qualified for assistance was to receive GH¢125.00, a sum that infuriated many victims who charged that the leadership was misusing the money.
The victims contended that numerous organizations had contributed varying amounts of money, but numerous dealers asserted that they had not been directly provided with any financial support.
The Kantamanto Market’s secretary, Mr. Adutwum Atta Manu, denied the allegations, stating that a sizable amount of the money raised from different organizations and private citizens had gone toward market reconstruction.
“The donations were not solely meant for individual handouts. Most of the funds were used to buy roofing sheets, lumber, and cement to reconstruct the market at a subsidised cost for traders,” he told the Ghanaian Times in an interview conducted over the weekend.
According to him, several media reports that assert that GH¢2.8 million in donations have been received but have not yet been disbursed are out of context.
“The widely publicised GH¢2.8 million donation was largely made up of in-kind contributions, including building materials, while cash donations available for discretionary use totaled GH¢781, 200,” Mr. Manu explained.
“Out of this amount, GH¢336,782 had already been spent on market reconstruction, leaving GH¢414,418, which will be accounted for,” he said.
Over 5,500 impacted traders have received GH¢2,500 from the Or Foundation, a non-profit organization that collaborated with the traders, according to Mr. Manu. Plans are in place to assist 10,000 victims, including head porters.
“This disbursement is controlled entirely by the Or Foundation, and market leaders have no influence over who gets what,” Mr. Manu clarified.
Instead of concentrating only on individual monetary gifts, he urged the traders to recognize the team effort that went into reviving the market.
“Thanks to the generosity of donors, the burden of rebuilding has been reduced. We must focus on recovery rather than division,” Mr. Manu added.
The leadership of Kantamanto Market expressed gratitude to all the people and organizations who helped with the reconstruction and urged the media to double-check material before publishing it in order to avoid spreading false information that could jeopardize current operations.
Source: newsthemegh.com