Scores of traders at Krofrom in the Kumasi Metropolis have been left stranded following a forceful evacuation by a private developer to reclaim a land they occupied for trading activities.
The operation, carried out by some unknown individuals in the wee hours of Monday, saw several shops and other structures on a parcel of land at Krofrom-Columbia razed down.
Goods and personal belongings of the traders worth thousands of cedis have been destroyed as the traders attempted to salvage the few left unharmed.
“They demolished the shops, destroying our personal belongings and goods,” one of the affected traders said.
Although some of the traders lamented that no official notice was served, others admitted they had been verbally warned two weeks earlier by unidentified persons who claimed the land had been sold.
The Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA) has since distanced itself from the exercise, insisting it had not authorized the demolition.
Public Relations Officer at the assembly, Henrietta Afia Konadu Aboagye, revealed that the landowner had obtained a permit to develop the land, but did not follow due process to evacuate the traders.
She assured the assembly’s intervention to have the traders compensated if they formally pursued the matter against the private developer.
“If the traders come together and present their case, the assembly will invite the developer for discussions, and compensation will be made for anything destroyed in the process,” Afia Konadu Aboagye advised.