Danger! Health time-bomb at Malata Market

Mallam Atta Market (Malata), is one of the major trading centres in the capital with Saturdays as market days, but has no proper infrastructure and is wrought with bad sanitation and an unhygienic environment as pertains in other markets in the city.

The market is the source of foodstuffs and meat products for the residents of Accra New Town, Dzorwulu, Abelemkpe, Roman Ridge and the Airport residential areas, and its environs.

Like any other major market, Malata has a well patronised butchery, but the problem of deplorable environmental conditions of the area is the same, with butchers and patrons doing little about it.

Despite a well constructed building for the butchers, the negative maintenance culture existing in this country has affected the building with the mosquito netting covering the windows torn and dirty, allowing entry to huge flies which hover around and settle on beef and mutton products on sale.

Its tables are very dirty, has stinking drains, and uncollected garbage, accompanied by buzzing houseflies, which welcome anyone who enters that part of the market.

A recent visit by the Accra File exposed how some butchers were busily washing the carcass of an animal in a basin filled with dirty water, regardless of its health implications to patrons.

A walk down the butchery lane at the market showed how female porters, employed by the butchers, used metal sponges to scrape singed cow hide, popularly known in the local parlance as 'wele,' in a basin full of dirty water, and other animal parts lying on the bare ground with buzzing flies hovering around and settling on them.

The butchers had their feet in the very water they were using to wash the meat.

Regardless of its implications, another butcher had placed the head of a cow on the bare table, whilst trying to cut it into smaller pieces.

The tables and other structures on which the meat had been displayed was enough to cause an environmental mutiny.

Vegetables and fresh fish sellers are also not left out in this fray, as some of them exposed the veggies on dirty sacks spread directly on the ground, and rinse them in dirty water.

A further walk through the market disclosed that the poultry sellers at the market slaughter birds in such conditions.

An interaction with a seller of live birds revealed that the some patrons prefer the birds being slaughtered and dressed for them, regardless of the unpalatable surroundings.

The environmental sanitation at the Mallam Atta market is gradually deteriorating as garbage containers have been positioned in between the traders.

Some of these trash containers are left unattended to for days, and generates maggots.

Flying insects settle on foods such as cassava and corn dough which are most times left uncovered.