Traders at Kumasi’s Racecourse Market have expressed their displeasure with the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) and urged Ashanti voters to think about other options in the general elections that will take place in December 2024.
They claim that their feelings are prompted by the choice of Manhyia South MP Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh to be the party’s running mate for flagbearer Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia.
The market women voiced their dissatisfaction with the NPP at a press conference on July 15, 2024, alleging the party has ignored their region, which has always demonstrated strong support for it.
Concerns about the delayed building of important projects, such as the Krofrom Market and the Kumasi Central Market, served as the foundation for their allegations.
The traders’ representative, Christabel Amoah, stressed that although Dr. Opoku Prempeh is from the Ashanti Region, the community has not benefited in any noticeable way from his nearly two decades as MP.
“We don’t have a proper place to use as our market. We live in water. Racecourse has been deserted. We stay under the sun from morning till dusk for our daily bread. Sometimes we are overrun by vehicles and some even lose their lives through it.
“NAPO has been MP for 16 years and the abandoned Krofrom Market is in his constituency so we expected him to fix it so we could use it but he didn’t. And we don’t expect him to address our problems at this juncture when he has been appointed as running mate,” onuaonline.com quoted her to have said during the press conference.
The traders also highlighted their lack of support during crises, including fire outbreaks, noting that the MP has not engaged with them to help find solutions.
“A lot has happened in our market including fire outbreaks but there has not been a single instance where he has come to us to share in our problems to help solve them.
“If Bawumia thinks we will vote for him because he is from the Ashanti Region, then he should forget about it. We are no more going to vote based on where we come from but rather who can bring development to Asanteman,” she added.
