Ghana’s Chief of Staff, Akosua Frema Osei-Opare has provided construction materials for the rebuilding of market stalls at the Kumasi Race Course Market at Bantama in the Ashanti Region.
The rebuilding follows the destruction of about 300 stalls on March 11, 2024, by fire, which also destroyed properties and goods valued at millions of Ghana Cedis.
The reconstruction of the stalls, which is estimated at a cost of GHC 800,000, is solely financed by the Chief of Staff.
In addition, Akosua Frema Osei-Opare gave the fire victims GHC50,000.
Workers were busily working on the site when Otec News visited the area on Tuesday, April 2, 2024. The area has been filled with sand for level ground, and the construction of the retaining wall is underway.
She has provided 6,000 pieces of wood, 50 trips of sand, 60 packets of roofing sheets, 20 trips of gravel, 500 bags of cement, 30 tonnes of iron rods, and packets of nails for the construction.
Speaking to Otec News on Tuesday on behalf of the traders, the queen mother of the Kumasi Race Course Market, Nana Afia Kyeiwaa, expressed gratitude to the Chief of Staff for supporting them.
She praised Akosua Frema Osei-Opare, calling her a “mother” and an “angel” for always being there for them, recounting the number of times she has shown them support.
“In December 2023, when fire razed down some stalls in the market, she provided all the funding for the rebuilding, including workmanship. She also provided 15 trips, sand, and 300 bags of cement to solve the perennial muddy nature in the market,” she said.
A smoked fish seller, Ama Dufie, a victim of the fire, was grateful to the Chief of Staff for the money and the reconstruction of the market stalls.
