Motorists and pedestrians alike will soon be able to move freely around the congested Abossey Okai Spare Parts Market without painful ado.
A planned decongestion that would give the market a new façade has been announced by the Greater Accra Regional Coordinating Council.
An unusual feature of the planned decongestion exercise, which will witness the construction of a car park, is that those involved in the spare parts business are now elated about the proposed project.
Such exercises are usually resisted by those who ply their trade at the locations where decongestion exercises are planned, but it not so in this case.
As contained in one of the stories in this edition, the leadership of the association is now ready to willingly support the project.
The support underscores the fact that there was a prior consultation with the leadership of the spare parts market before the decision was made public.
That is how to manage such projects. We are excited with the maturity exhibited by both the city authorities and the leadership of the spare parts dealers on the subject.
There is no doubt that the spare parts market, as noted by the leadership of the dealers, is a nuisance as well as an eyesore; the inconvenience of which is off-putting to prospective customers. The spare parts dealers stand to benefit under the circumstances, which is exactly what their co-chairman said during a press conference to support the planned project.
Accra should wear a new and better look, and this can only take place when residents and those operating at places such as the Abossey Okai Spare Parts Market join hands with the city authorities in their bid to change the city’s picture.
That cantankerous persons, ride on the back of the chaotic market to sell abandoned vehicle parts to unsuspecting buyers, is a significant point raised during the press conference.
A lot of such bad persons hover around the market, thus giving the location a bad image, although the shop owners who are doing genuine business do not deserve such a sweeping negative reference.
The Greater Accra Regional Coordinating Council should ride on the goodwill underpinning the project and coordinate the speedy face-lifting of the market.
Applying the template which has worked the magic of eliminating resistance from the operators of the market is highly recommended for use elsewhere.
This is good news for the ‘Let Make Accra Work’ project.
We long for the day when motorists can drive in comfort to the Abossey Okai Spare Parts Market to buy genuine parts and leave with little or no inconvenience.
The Greater Accra Regional Council, motorists and residents of the nation’s capital who use the Abossey Okai general area as they head for their various destinations should heave a sigh of relief about the pending new-look for the spare parts market.