The Chief of Apremdo, Nana Kwamena XI, has rubbished calls for the pacification of the gods in his traditional area to transform the dormant Apremdo Market into a place of brisk business.
�What the market really needs are facilities that transform it from its present outlook into a modern edifice that would naturally attract everybody,� the chief stressed.
Throwing more light on the matter, Nana Kwamena XI said that the poor drainage system in the market, absence of a health facility, absence of a place of convenience and other essential social services are issues that need urgent attention to make everything else fall in place.
Authorities of the Sekondi Takoradi Metropolitan Assembly (STMA) have been urging affected traders by the ongoing decongestion exercise at the Market Circle to move to the Apremdo Market, but many of them have failed to do so because they claim patronage at the place is poor.
Others claimed that the poor patronage was due to the anger of the gods because they were not pacified at the planning stage of the project, and have therefore called on the chief and elders to perform the necessary pacification rites.
At one stage the government gave in and provided alcoholic drinks and a fat cow for the rituals but to no avail.
But when the demand for additional sacrifices was made last month, Mr Paul Evans Aidoo, Western Regional Minister, flatly refused to bow to the pressure, insisting that the request was unscientific, and his position is now being backed by the chief.
The row over the use of the Apremdo Market has been on for some two decades now. It will be recalled that the project was undertaken during the reign of former President Jerry John Rawlings.
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