KMA Committee To Validate Shop Owners At Kejetia

An 11-member committee has been inaugurated to validate and verify of shop owners as contractors working on the Kejetia redevelopment project prepares to hand over the facility to the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA).

The validation exercise is scheduled to start on Wednesday, October 19, 2018.

The Brazilian firm, Contracta, working on the 259 million dollar facility is set to hand over to the Assembly after completing phase one of the project.

The KMA before the relocation of traders and shop owners to temporary markets in the city conducted a biometric registration of all shop owners.

The relocation of the occupants was to pave the way for the start of the phase one of the Kejetia redevelopment project.

Incessant market fires, congestion, and the expansion f economic activities at the Kumasi central market and the Kejetia bus terminal necessitated the redevelopment.

Speaking to the journalists at an event to outdoor the validation committee at the Kumasi Cultural Center, Kumasi Mayor, Osei Assibey Antwi said the oversight committee will prioritize original owners of shops in the validation process.

“The Assembly now mindful of the fact that, the phase is going to be handed over to us, has now formed a validation committee and the duty of the validation committee is first of all to verify and validate those who used to have stalls at the former place that is Kejetia. So throughout the verification and validation exercise, the committee is going to establish the real owners of shops who were at Kejetia. In prioritization, those at Kejetia who were relocated to Acheamfour and Adehye markets are the people who will be validated first,” he explained.

He assured that the Assembly will ensure transparency in the distribution of the shops and called on all traders and other shop owners to comply with the committee in its work.

Distribution of shop owners will be fair and transparent

Chairperson of the committee, Amoamahene, Nana Agyenim Boateng has assured the committee will ensure due diligence in the whole process.

He has allayed fears the shops will be given out to the party faithful.

The Amoamahene who is also a member of the Kumasi Traditional Council (KTC) explained that the biometric registration which has the details of the original shop owners has been authenticated and will be difficult for anyone without the required details to tamper with the process.

According to him, shop owners will also be required to provide valid identity cards as part of the assessment process during the validation.

“Some of these things, the trust and respect are that, if we don’t formalize this issues then we should forget about the whole project. So let’s assume that there is this Ex-party man who thinks he can get the shop now, the question is how come?, because it is a biometric registration and that has been authenticated, so even the server is not in Kumasi let alone for one to get into that server”, he added.

The leadership of the Kejetia Petty traders and Traders Association, transport unions, market queens and other relevant stakeholders have been sensitized on the whole exercise by the KMA.

Public Relations Officer (PRO) for the Kejetia Petty Traders Association, Andrews Koffie appealed to the KMA to avoid technicalities in the validation process.

He also called on the Assembly not to sideline original shop owners in the exercise.