Jasikan market stores under lock years after completion

Thirty lockable stores built under the District Development Facility (DDF) fund in Jasikan, Oti Region, are still under lock three years after completion.

The construction of the stores located at the Jasikan market started in 2013, but could not continue after the District failed to meet the Minimum conditions and Performance Measures Indicators required to qualify for it to access funding.

However, checks by the Ghana News Agency (GNA) indicated that some stores were completed in 2016, but yet to be given out for use.

A letter dated January 09, 2017, signed by Mr. Killian Abraham Kwame, a former Jasikan District Chief Executive (DCE) and sighted by GNA asked individuals interested in lockable stores to pay a "goodwill" sum of GH?2,000.00 for a period of five years.

The letter further stated that each occupant would pay GH?30.00 per month in addition to the "goodwill" cash, for a five-year period.

GNA checks also revealed that some individuals interested in the lockable stores made advanced and final payments as at September 2016 when the Assembly needed money to complete some of the stores, but they were yet to have access to the keys of the stores they paid for.

Mr. Emmanuel Oberko, Jasikan Station Chairman told the GNA that he wrote the names of the individuals interested in the stores, presented them to the Assembly and subsequently distributed the receipts from the Assembly to the individuals.

He said the agreed payment was GH?2,000.00, which they were told to contribute as a form of support towards the project since there was no funds.

Mr. Oberko said the project was completed, but there were issues with lighting system, the staircase, and drainage, adding that there was no access route to the facility and that attempts to get the issues resolved proved futile.

The Station Chairman said they were told to sign a new agreement contrary to the earlier one they signed, while the project was being undertaken because the earlier amount was not enough to enable them occupy the stores.

He said traders who paid for the stores were not happy with the new arrangement, claiming, the Assembly promised to release keys to the stores in September 2018, but failed.

They said their monies paid as security had also not been refunded for almost four years and called on the Assembly to speed up with final works on the project and distribute the stores to the tenants to prevent their businesses from collapsing.

GNA also saw a new tenancy agreement dated April 01, 2019 between individuals who made payments for the lockable stores as 'tenants' and the Jasikan District Assembly as the 'landlord' which would allow a tenant occupy the premises for a term of two years.

The agreement also required that a tenant made a full advance payment of GH?2,880.00 being the rent for a two-year tenancy, GH?120.00 per month.

The tenant is expected to make a deposit of a refundable amount of GH?4,000.00 as security against any unforeseen liabilities on part of the tenant in respect of the premises before entering the premises and would be liable for repair of any avoidable damage during their tenancy and the cost would be offset against the deposited amount.

Tenants would however receive full refund of the deposited amount at determination of the tenancy subject to any liabilities or damages the cost of, which may be offset against the deposited amount.

When the GNA contacted Mr. Lawrence Kwami Aziale, the Jasikan District Chief Executive (DCE), he said the project was a fully funded DDF one, but was stalled due to lack of funds before his administration took office.

He noted that the lack of funds was due to the Assembly's failure during an assessment to enable it qualify for funds under the DDF in 2014 and added that the Assembly in 2017 scored 96 per cent under a DDF assessment, which qualified it for funds to undertake stalled and new projects in the Assembly.

The DCE said the Assembly decided to use the funds to continue works on the lockable stores and said the new agreement was to develop a document for tenants and the Assembly, saying, the Assembly was still keeping monies paid as security against security.

Mr Aziale said the Assembly also started working on new projects assuring that the stores would be given out soon.