Onions on bare ground for sale
Traders in and around the Onion Market at the Agbogbloshie Market have expressed their displeasure over the inability of the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) to ensure basic sanitation in the market. According to them, although some cholera cases have been recorded in the area, not much assistance has been received from the assembly to ensure a clean environment.
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Mr Suleman Ibrahim, one of the elders of the market, said although the market served several homes, restaurants, schools and institutions, the AMA had neglected it. That, he said, had deterred customers from buying from the market.
When asked why onions were displayed on the bare ground, Mr Ibrahim said there was no other alternative. He noted that the onions were easily placed on the ground because they were bagged.
When the Daily Graphic questioned him about the health implications of the practice, Ibrahim said he hoped that the onions would be properly treated before being consumed.
Most of the customers who visit the market come to buy the onions in baskets for domestic use only.
Some traders use the market as their residence, with visible makeshift structures that serve as bedrooms, and undertake other domestic activities there. There was a mosque, church and kraals.
The entire area was very dirty with very strong stench emanating from the refuse dump. There were some women scavenging for onions.They searched and picked spoilt onions from the refuse dump with the intention of selling them.
When the Daily Graphic asked one of them, Sherifatu Dauda, why she was collecting the spoilt onions for sale. She said it was to support her family.
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Asked whether they were aware of the health implications and about cholera, Madam Dauda said she was not aware of the health implications but had heard of cholera.