A newly constructed oil-funded 40-seater market in the Nkonya District of the Volta Region has effectively been abandoned by traders and repurposed as a church venue after flooding, structural flaws, and poor siting rendered the facility unusable for its intended purpose.
The project, which includes stalls and a shed and was financed through oil revenue allocations, was designed to provide a modern trading space for market women in the area.
But today, instead of the sound of bargaining and commerce, the structure echoes with prayers, vigils, and all-night church conventions.
According to findings from a Public Interest and Accountability Committee (PIAC) inspection, the market has suffered from multiple design and location failures that have made trading impractical.
During rainfall, the site reportedly floods, forcing traders to abandon their stalls. Even more problematic, the roofing design allows rainwater to enter several of the stores, damaging goods and making the space unusable for sensitive merchandise such as clothing and food items.
As a result, market women who once depended on the facility have gradually pulled out.
“If you are selling clothes, it will get wet. If anything gets wet, you lose your stock. You simply cannot stay there when it rains,” a report from PIAC’s inspection noted, capturing the frustration of traders who have since vacated the site.
What was meant to be an infrastructure for rural economic support has now become an example of misaligned planning. With trading activity gone, local churches have taken over the space, using it for night vigils and conventions, activities that conveniently avoid the building’s daytime flooding challenges.
This reflects deeper issues in project planning and community engagement. According to the PIAC findings, the community was not adequately consulted in selecting the site, despite its known vulnerability to flooding.
Local stakeholders argue that alternative locations were available within the district that would have better served trading needs, but decisions were taken without sufficient grassroots input.
The District Assembly, however, maintains it was involved in the process, setting up a dispute over how the final site was selected and approved.
What remains undisputed is that a publicly funded infrastructure project meant to boost local commerce has, within a short period, become functionally obsolete for its original purpose. For now, the market stands as a striking irony of development, an investment meant to empower traders, now largely sustained by sermons rather than sales.
