Kumasi is a city in southern central Ghana's Ashanti region. It is located in the Rain Forest Region about 250 kilometres (160 mi) (by road) northwest of Accra. Kumasi is approximately 300 miles (480 km) north of the Equator and 100 miles (160 km) north of the Gulf of Guinea. It is popularly known as "The Garden City" or "heart beat" of Ghana because of its many beautiful species of flowers and plants.
The Kejetia market is the largest single market in West Africa with over 10,000 stores and stalls.[1]
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Kejetia is West Africa's largest open air market right in the heart of Ashanti Kumasi. It is bordered to the North by the Kumasi Cultural Centre and to the North West by the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital. The southern part of the market forms a border with Adum, the commercial centre of the city. Virtually everything that one wants to purchase from a market can be found at Kejetia. It ranges from jewelry, food, toiletries, gorgeous fabrics (in the center of the market), spices, and grains. If you are traveling with someone, it is necessary to stay close since it is very easy to lose one another and pretty easy to lose your way. This is a great place to buy fabric, and see a HUGE market, full of everyday hustle and bustle.
The huge human and vehicular traffic in and around the market makes its management and law enforcement very difficult. Various methods of ensuring peace and order in the area are employed include the formation of a city guard group. The members of the group act as the market's law enforcement authority. They handle basic traffic direction duties, anti-hawking activities, etc. However, they refer all cases that are beyond the jurisdiction to the Kejetia Police Personnel who have a station in the market. In 2010, the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly through the market managers Freko FD Ltd installed CCTV cameras around the market [2] with the aim of strengthening security at the station. The move was expected to clamp down on hoodlums, who ply their trade in areas including the Kumasi Central market, PZ-Adum, Zoological and its environs.
Like all big markets in Ghana such as Takoradi Market Circle and Cape Coast's Kotokoraba Market, fire outbreaks continue be the major destroyer of the Kejetia market. The market has had, in the past, several outbreaks that have resulted in the destruction of stores, stalls and their wares. The destruction in most cases runs into several millions of cedis. One recent outbreak occurred on Wednesday, 19th September, 2001[3] when a blazing hail of fire gutted over 150 stores at Kejetia. It took the intervention of the Kumasi City Fire Service, to fight the fire from engulfing or spreading to other stores. The cost of items destroyed was not readily assessed. The cause was attributed to the illegal electrical connections performed by workers of a private developer.
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