Minister for Local Government, Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs Mahama Ayariga has inspected the long-stalled Kejetia Market Phase II project in Kumasi, describing the visit as part of his effort to familiarise himself with ongoing projects under his ministry and pledging to work with relevant authorities to see the project through to completion.
The Bawku Central MP’s inspection, conducted over the weekend of August 30 and 31, 2026, marked his first working visit to Kumasi since his appointment, and brought him face to face with a project that has become one of the most closely watched infrastructure disputes in the Ashanti Region.
Hon Ayariga said the visit allowed him to inspect the project site directly and engage relevant stakeholders on the progress made so far, the challenges holding back completion, and the measures needed to move the work forward.
“The Kejetia Market Phase II project is an important development for the Kumasi Metropolis, and I am committed to working closely with the relevant authorities and stakeholders to address the challenges and ensure the successful completion of the project”.
Minister for Local Government, Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs Mahama Ayariga
The inspection also covered the Krofrom Market project and brought together Kumasi Mayor Richard Kwasi Ofori Boadi Agyemang, Apagyahene Oheneba Owusu Afriyie IV, and heads of department at the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly, positioning the visit as a coordinated effort between the ministry and local authorities rather than a solo ministerial tour.
A Project Seven Years in the Making
Hon Mahama Ayariga’s inspection lands on a project with a difficult recent history. Work on Kejetia Market Phase II began more than seven years ago after former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, cut sod for its construction in May 2019.
The redevelopment reached roughly 58 percent completion before work halted in 2024 over unpaid Interim Payment Certificates and the subsequent demobilisation of contractors, according to figures the ministry disclosed in May.
Those figures painted a project far along in some respects and badly stalled in others: engineering works nearly complete at 99 percent, procurement at 77 percent, but actual construction only 35 percent finished.
By May 2026, unpaid claims and suspension costs had pushed the project’s revised total cost above €305 million, with more than €27 million in certified payments still outstanding to the contractor at that point.
Traders Have Grown Increasingly Frustrated
The delay has taken a direct toll on the traders displaced from the market since 2021. The Combined Kumasi Central Market Traders Union issued an ultimatum in April demanding the government release funds and resume work by the end of May, warning of mass demonstrations if the deadline passed without action.
Traders relocated to the Racecourse site have described deteriorating conditions there, including poor roads, inadequate lighting, weak sanitation and persistent insecurity, all of which they say have eroded customer patronage and income. Government has repeated assurances of completion at several points this year without fully resolving the underlying funding dispute.
Kumasi Mayor Ofori Boadi Agyemang said in July that the project stood at around 60 percent complete and that the contractor had assured him the market could be finished by the end of 2026 if progress continued, while also clarifying that President Mahama himself had never publicly committed to that specific completion date, despite reports to the contrary.
What Ayariga’s Visit Signals
Hon Mahama Ayariga’s appointment to the Local Government portfolio in August followed the ministerial reshuffle that moved him into the role from his previous position as Majority Leader, and this inspection represents his first substantive engagement with a project that has already tested two of his predecessors’ public commitments.
He framed the visit as part of a broader approach to the ministry’s work. “The visit forms part of my broader commitment to engaging directly with local authorities, monitoring projects on the ground, and ensuring that development initiatives under my ministry deliver meaningful benefits to our people,” he said.
Whether that direct engagement translates into the funding resolution traders have demanded since April remains the open question the visit itself did not answer.
READ ALSO: Skytrain Trial to Proceed as Supreme Court Rejects Asamoah’s Injunction
