Makola Market is a renowned

market Market is a term used to describe concepts such as: *Market (economics), system in which parties engage in transactions according to supply and demand *Market economy *Marketplace, a physical marketplace or public market Geography *Märket, an ...

place and shopping district in the centre of the city of Accra, the capital of

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...

. A wide array of products is sold in the markets and its surrounding streets, from car parts to land snails. Dominated by women traders, the market sells fresh produce, manufactured and imported foods, clothes,

shoe A shoe is an item of footwear intended to protect and comfort the human foot. They are often worn with a sock. Shoes are also used as an item of decoration and fashion. The design of shoes has varied enormously through time and from culture ...

tool A tool is an object that can extend an individual's ability to modify features of the surrounding environment or help them accomplish a particular task. Although many animals use simple tools, only human beings, whose use of stone tools dates ba ...

medicine Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care pr ...

s, and pots and pans. Jewellery made from locally handcrafted beads can also be found for sale in the market. About 25% of the 70% market women are employed in Makola market.

Historical background

Makola Market was constructed in Accra in 1924 and stood at the heart of the urban Ghanaian life. The market was the main wholesale and retail marketplace in Accra, the epicenter of trade in the country and one of the nation's most important social and cultural institutions. On 18 August 1979, 55 years after its creation, Makola Market was destroyed. The Rawlings government that agreed on the demolition of the centre of trade in Ghana thought that devastating Makola would improve the economy. Indeed, there were accusations that various products considered banned in Ghana were being sold in the Makola Market. In this way, the market women were accused of Ghana's economic problems. Makola Market was featured in the

Travel Channel Travel Channel (stylized as Trvl Channel since 2018) is an American pay television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, which had previously owned the channel from 1997 to 2007. The channel is headquartered in New York, New York, United S ...

show '' Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations'' with Anthony Bourdain in the Ghana episode. During the episode, Bourdain walked through the market, where he sampled local wares and enjoyed a condensed milk-toffee drink made with local herbs.

Recent development

At the recent "Ghana at 60" anniversary celebration, African print retailers in Makola Market threatened to boycott the sale of the official cloth used during the celebration due to its huge cost. The cloth was being sold at a price of 240 cedis for . The anniversary logo on the cloth featured three people in an embrace, which signified the

unity in diversity Unity in diversity is used as an expression of harmony and unity between dissimilar individuals or groups. It is a concept of "unity without uniformity and diversity without fragmentation" that shifts focus from unity based on a mere tolerance ...

of Ghanaians.

Controversies

The Minister of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, Professor Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng, stated that some traders had resorted to using

formalin Formaldehyde ( , ) ( systematic name methanal) is a naturally occurring organic compound with the formula and structure . The pure compound is a pungent, colourless gas that polymerises spontaneously into paraformaldehyde (refer to section F ...

, a cancer-causing agent, to preserve salted

tilapia Tilapia ( ) is the common name for nearly a hundred species of cichlid fish from the coelotilapine, coptodonine, heterotilapine, oreochromine, pelmatolapiine, and tilapiine tribes (formerly all were "Tilapiini"), with the economically most ...

, commonly known as "koobi". The sellers dismissed the claim, saying that they were shocked to hear it. They stated that since the story broke, their sales had been affected since many people refused to purchase it.

Gallery

Image: Pots Section, Makola Market, Accra, Ghana.JPG, Pots Section, Makola Market, Accra, Ghana Image: Street Outside Makola Market, Accra, Ghana.JPG, Street Outside Makola Market, Accra, Ghana Image: Snails, Makola Market, Accra, Ghana.JPG, Snails, Makola Market, Accra, Ghana Image: Accra Central, Accra, Ghana.jpg, Busy Street in Accra Central near Makola Market. Image: A woman from Ghana selling water.jpg, A woman selling water in Makola

References

External links

View images at Flickr
{{Coord, 5.547791, -0.206863, display=title Retail markets in Ghana Buildings and structures in Accra Economy of Accra