Accra to Close Cocoa Board–Kantamanto Stretch in December to Create Space for Christmas Traders

The Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) will close the stretch of road from the Cocoa Board area to Kantamanto in the Central Business District this December, creating temporary trading space for vendors without permanent shops ahead of the Christmas festivities.

Accra Mayor Michael Kpakpo Allotey announced the arrangement on Friday during the November edition of the National Sanitation Day exercise, where he addressed traders in the busy commercial district. He said the initiative is intended to give shopless traders the opportunity to sell their goods during the peak festive season and maximise their earnings.

“We want you to make more sales this December than you have ever done,” Allotey said. “The Local Government Minister has asked us to block some of the roads to create space for traders who do not have shops to sell their goods. The stretch from Cocoa Board to Kantamanto will be closed.”

The decision follows a directive from Mahama Ayariga, Minister for Local Government, Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs, who assumed office in August 2026 with a mandate that includes restoring order to Ghana’s cities and addressing congestion and the encroachment of public spaces .

Bus Stop Traders Ordered to Vacate

Separately, the Mayor directed traders currently operating at bus stops within the CBD to vacate those spaces before Monday. The directive is part of efforts to ensure the smooth movement of vehicles and pedestrians and to maintain order within the busy commercial district .

Background: A Market Under Pressure

The planned road closure comes at a delicate time for Kantamanto, West Africa’s largest hub for second-hand clothing and household goods. The market has struggled to regain its former vibrancy since a devastating fire in January 2025 destroyed hundreds of stalls and goods worth millions of Ghana cedis, displacing many traders—most of them women .

Traders have reported that business has not fully recovered, with some unable to restart due to lack of capital and others blaming congestion caused by roadside traders encroaching on streets and railway lines for diverting customers away from the main market . The AMA’s December road closure plan appears designed, in part, to formalise trading space for some of those vendors while easing pressure on the market’s immediate surroundings.

Longer-term redevelopment efforts are also underway. The Or Foundation, a US-Ghanaian non-profit working in Kantamanto, has unveiled plans to overhaul the market using repurposed shipping containers, with an 80-stall demonstration site already in place on land provided by the AMA. The foundation estimates a full redevelopment could cost more than US$70 million and has stressed that the demonstration site is not a comprehensive solution for the entire market .

For now, the AMA’s focus is on the immediate festive season. The road closure is expected to take effect in December, with the exact dates and traffic management arrangements to be communicated closer to the time. Traders have been urged to take full advantage of the additional space, while motorists should anticipate diversions around the Cocoa Board–Kantamanto corridor during the period.