The Association of Onion Sellers in Kumasi have remonstrated against a move by the Kwadaso Municipal Assembly to forcefully expel them from a 2.4-acre parcel of land which the Asantehene, Otumfour Osei Tutu II, allegedly allocated to them for use as a commercial onion market in 2011, following the redevelopment of Kumasi Race Course.
Addressing the media on behalf of the distraught traders on Monday, 21st July 2025, Vice Chairman for the association, Alhaji Abdallah Umar, said the assembly’s decision to prevent them from erecting stalls to operate their business constitutes a blatant violation of the orders of the Asantehene – as issued to the assembly in 2024.
In a rather startling revelation, he alleged that the onion traders association pays 5,000 Ghana Cedis as monthly levy to the Kwadaso Municipal Assembly.
He observed that aside from creating jobs for women and the local youth, the association duly honours its social responsibility by procuring desk for schools and covering the healthcare cost of needy persons.
Reacting to concerns regarding road congestion caused by onion trucks, Alhaji Abdallah said the association would create a new access route into the market.
Meanwhile, the National Democratic Congress Chairman for Kwadaso Constituency, Issah Moro, has risen to the defence of the onion sellers, labelling their eviction as gravely unjustified. Correcting a number of misapprehensions in an interview with Newsguidegh.com he noted that prior to their settling, the onion sellers bore the full cost of levelling the land.
Additionally, he disclosed that during the 2024 Election campaign, he, together with the current Municipal Chief Executive for Kwadaso, Honourable Eric Assibey, promised to allow the onion traders to continue their trade on the land if they actively campaigned for the party.
He has, therefore, promised to thwart all eviction efforts, stating that the assembly is currently hatching a 50-year lease plan to a private developer for the construction of a bus terminal and a washing bay on the land.
By: Stanley Asumadu
