The Ayawaso West Municipal Assembly has moved to stop the emergence of an unauthorised market near the Tetteh Quashie Roundabout, close to Villagio.
The latest action comes months after the controversial demolition of the Tetteh Quarshie Art Market and adjoining businesses in March 2026 by unidentified men in military-style uniforms.
The demolition displaced several traders and artisans and triggered widespread criticism, with Deputy Minister for Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts, Yussif Jajah, calling for an investigation into the exercise.
“Even if you have the power to take over this land, let the people take their valuables before you destroy the whole place,” he said at the time.
In the months following the demolition, some affected traders at the Ayawaso West Art Market complained about falling sales, mounting debts and difficulties meeting their financial obligations and supporting their families.
The Assembly subsequently relocated the traders to a temporary site near the former market, but some traders said the new location had suffered from poor patronage and challenges associated with the rainy season.
They also called for compensation and the provision of a permanent trading location.
One trader claimed to have lost more than GH¢30,000, while a master carver said he had accumulated over GH¢50,000 in debt after purchasing stock on credit.
The Assembly’s NADMO Deputy Director for Technical, Eric Adjei Affum, said the Assembly was working on relief packages for affected traders, while acknowledging that such assistance would not fully make up for their losses.
The emergence of the new unauthorised market at Tetteh Quashie has now brought renewed attention to informal trading and the occupation of public spaces within the municipality.
The area around the Tetteh Quashie interchange and Villagio has in recent years seen various forms of informal commercial activity, including street hawking and makeshift trading structures.
The Assembly’s latest intervention forms part of its broader efforts to enforce planning regulations and curb unauthorised developments and activities.
In October 2025, the Assembly arrested four individuals who allegedly presented themselves as national security operatives and attempted to interfere with a demolition exercise near the Bawaleshie traffic light.
The Assembly has also issued notices to owners of unapproved developments, directing them to regularise their building permits and warning of possible demolition and prosecution for non-compliance.
The latest development at Tetteh Quashie, however, once again places the Assembly at the intersection of enforcing planning laws and addressing the livelihood concerns of traders who depend on informal spaces for their businesses.
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