Spare Parts Dealers at Obossey-Okai have expressed their readiness to move from their present location to Afienya as proposed by the government.
President of the Association, Siaw Ampadu revealed they have championed this move for more than 20 years and are glad their dream is finally being realized.
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“We championed our relocation and expansion of our place of work right from ex-President Kufuor’s era till now. Our numbers are increasing and because we want to position ourselves for the future, we need to relocate and we appreciate the Regional Minister for hearing us out,” he shared.
According to him, some members of the Association are against the move but a majority of them are ready to move. “About 80 percent of our membership are in support of the relocation. But we all know there is always a bit of opposition in such cases and we have others who have expressed concerns over this move. We plan to address these concerns but we should not only think about today in this case but tomorrow as well. The spare parts industry is opening up and we cannot keep living under the Abossey-Okai conditions.”
Justifying the urgency of the relocation, he noted in a few years, haulage trucks will not be allowed access to the city center and that will affect the work of spare part dealers. “Because the state wants to control the traffic situation in the city, a new law will be passed and that will prevent trucks from coming to the business district and if this happens, how can we get spare parts to Abossey-Okai?” he asked in an interview with Samuel Eshun on the Happy Morning Show.
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Siaw Ampadu shared that the Association requested for a 200 to 400 acre land in either Afienya, Dawheyna or Amasaman and are pleased government has heard their plea. “We needed such a large tract of land because we will not only sell cars there. We want to move car dealers from the roadside so we will have a garage at the site and also dedicate a portion to mechanics.”
He appealed to investors to help them develop the land and build stores for them. “They can give us a flexible payment plan so our members can own these stores permanently. Currently our rent is very high and we pay between 50,000 to 80,000 as rent for up to 5 years and that is a problem.”
He charged members of the Association who are reluctant to move to rather focus on the advantages of the relocation rather than the disadvantages.
Background
Plans are underway for the relocation of all spare parts dealers from Abossey Okai in Accra to Afienya.
According to the new Greater Accra Regional Minister, Mr Henry Quartey, who has initiated a campaign to “Make Accra work again”, the government has identified a land in Afienya and was working towards allocating it to the spare parts dealers.
The land, he said is owned by the government and that letters have already been sent to the Lands Commission under the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources for the allocation.
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He was of the hope that deliberations on the land would be finalized by the end of 2021 and hinted that, “we are looking at some 100 to 200 acres in Afienya for the spare parts village.”
The move is to help decongest the Abossey Okai area in Accra which is difficult to navigate with a vehicle because of trading activities on the streets.
Besides, the proximity of Afienya to the Tema port is also a consideration for the relocation.