Tamale takes on new phase of development

TAMALE, the Northern Regional capital, is growing by leaps and bounds. In the past couple of years not only has the city attracted business establishments, including banks, but it is also attracting  a large number of tourists and other visitors.

The Tamale Metropolitan Assembly (TAMA), led by its Chief Executive, Abdul-Hanan Gundadow, is leading the way for the city’s accelerated development. The city is currently a central point for commerce and social activities in the northern sector of the country.

The metropolis is well noted for its hospitality and rich cultural heritage. It was not surprising therefore when the Israeli Ambassador to Ghana, Her Excellency Sharon Bar-li, commended the TAMA for the tremendous efforts it was undertaking to ensure the city’s modernisation.

“I get amazed every time I come here, particularly at the level of expansion and development of this city,” she stated. According to Madam Bar-li, the progress the assembly and the people are making is what has accounted for the level of growth in the area and must be complimented.

The Israeli Ambassador expressed her impression during a courtesy call on the Tamale Metropolitan Chief Executive at his office in Tamale when she arrived to take part in a programme on Early Childhood Education Development in Tamale. The education programme is being undertaken by the Israeli Agency for International Development and Cooperation (MASHAV) in collaboration with the GES and the TAMA.

High-rise buildings
In almost every suburb, there are high rise buildings springing up. Besides, people who sell their old homes in strategic locations to real estate developers, there are others who are leasing out their plots of land for the same purpose. Many tenants who live in houses by roadsides are being ejected as landlords are turning their properties into stores and office spaces in view of the high demand for such facilities. Expectedly, traditional buildings of round huts and thatch roofs are now giving way to storey-buildings of aesthetic architecture, complemented mainly with glass panels and trendy roofing. Even the palaces of the two prominent chiefs in Tamale, the Gukpegu and Dakpema, have not been spared the intrusion of modernity as the mud round houses roofed with thatch that reflected the cultural heritage of the area have given way to concrete round walls and shiny zinc roofing sheets.

Markets
There are two major markets in Tamale; the Tamale Central Market and Aboabo Market. Besides the two, there are also satellites markets in a number of the suburbs. The markets serve as busy centres of commerce and at the same time as a regular source of revenue for the metropolitan assembly.

A number of the markets lack proper places of convenience. The only old fashioned public toilet located inside the Tamale Market is an eyesore. Apart from it not being adequate to serve the growing number of traders and shoppers, its location in the midst of stores and stalls poses a health threat to traders and shoppers.

Under the current haphazard arrangements in some of the markets, it is feared that a severely destructive situation may occur in the event of an unfortunate incident such as a fire outbreak. Compounding the bad situation is the lack of access routes for an ambulance or fire engine in case of a disaster. 

It was for these reasons that the people became ecstatic when the sod was cut for the commencement of work on the Tamale Market-expansion project in March this year. The face-lift project has since been progressing steadily. A part of the project involves the construction of a two-storey building that would have 40 stores on each floor. The expansion project is expected to be completed within a period of 18 months and is being funded by the World Bank through its Urban Development Grant.

The Aboabo Supermarket project, which was abandoned about 30 years ago, is also being revived by the assembly. The three-storey facility has been awarded on contract. When complete, the refurbished facility would contain lockable stores, warehouses and other such facilities to facilitate the buying and selling of goods and services. The project, which would also take 18 months to finish, is supported by the Ministry of Trade and Industry under its Industrial Sector Support Programme.

Construction works on this project as well as those on satellite markets in the suburbs of Lamashegu and Kapkag-yili, have also commenced.

The first phase of the Kapkag-yili Market project is expected to cost GH¢450,000 and will include two building blocks of lockable stores. Each unit will contain six stores. There will also be 24 open stores, a butcher’s shop, a six-seater KVIP and a urinal, all of which are to be completed in nine months. The Lamashegu Market project will cost about GH¢364.000 and will comprise 10 lockable stores, four open stores, a paved inner perimetre of the market and drains. This project is to be finished in six months.

The Chief Executive of TAMA explained that “these initiatives have been put in place to facilitate private sector investment and to stimulate business growth in order to reposition the metropolis as the fulcrum of development in the north.”

Traders
Some traders in Tamale have described the project as a welcoming initiative, and expressed their hope for its early completion. “I also urge the authorities to extend the facelift projects to other market in the metropolis,” Hajia Maria said.

Unauthorised structures
Following the inadequate number of outlets for traders, the metropolis is gradually turning into a city of shops. There are stores and stalls dotted at every nook and cranny of the metropolis. Metal containers and kiosks are springing up in almost every available space. Pavements and bicycle lanes in the Central Business District have been taken over by traders who obstruct the free flow of commuters and vehicles. Traders have also succeeded in taking over the car park outside the Kaladan Park and its immediate environs and the Aboabo lorry station. The activities of these traders leave much to be desired as they contribute in large part to the unsanitary conditions in the metropolis.