Scrap dealers from the Old Agbogbloshie onion market have reclaimed their former site, decrying the lack of progress on the land five years after their forcible eviction under the New Patriotic Party (NPP) government.
According to the dealers, promises of redevelopment, including the construction of an Agenda 111 Hospital, remain unfulfilled.
“They forcibly evicted us five years ago but have made no progress on the land,” one dealer said.
“We’ve been here for over 30 years before the NPP came and evicted us. Even the relocation hasn’t been done. They only relocated the onion sellers but left us, the scrap dealers, to suffer.”
The eviction, led by then-Greater Accra Regional Minister Henry Quartey, was part of an initiative to decongest the area and redevelop the site.
However, the scrap dealers claim the land has since been abandoned and turned into a rubbish dump.
“They said they had plans to redevelop this place. Agenda 111 Hospital, they said. But look around; what have they done here? The land is bushy and unused.
We were removed forcefully, and nothing has been done,” another dealer added.
The scrap dealers, who have decided to return to the site, believe the new government under the National Democratic Congress (NDC) will be more supportive of their small-scale businesses.
“We suffered a lot under the previous government. The NDC government has worked with us before, and they support small businesses like ours. We are here because we were here before,” they said.
When asked whether they had official permission to return, the dealers admitted they had not received approval but felt they had no choice but to reclaim the land.
“We have to come back. This was our place. If the government wants to come and make formal agreements, we are ready for discussions,” one stated.
The Agbogbloshie Market, once a bustling hub in Accra, is known for its vibrant trade, including the sale of onions, scrap metal, and other goods.
Over the years, the market became infamous for its congestion, unsanitary conditions, and environmental concerns, leading to multiple government-led decongestion and relocation efforts.
In 2021, as part of efforts to modernize Accra, the NPP government initiated the eviction of traders and scrap dealers from the Agbogbloshie Market.
The aim was to clear the area for redevelopment, including plans for hospitals under the Agenda 111 initiative.
While onion sellers were relocated to Adjen Kotoku, scrap dealers were left without alternative spaces, leaving many of them without livelihoods.
Agbogbloshie is also home to one of the world’s largest electronic waste dumps, drawing international attention to its environmental and health hazards.
Despite the government’s plans to rehabilitate the area, stakeholders have criticized the lack of follow-through on redevelopment efforts, leaving the land underutilized.
“We just want to work and take care of our families. This is where we belong,” one of them said.
‘They forcibly evicted us five years ago but have made no progress on the land.’ – Scrap dealers from Old Agbogbloshie onion market reclaim market site pic.twitter.com/zyyzkripGq
— Joy Prime (@JoyPrimeTV) January 15, 2025
