Like the Kantamanto Market, the government continues to suffer from the same recurring fires
In a remarkable comeback to serve a final term as president, former Ghanaian leader John Mahama is now promising Ghanaians a “reset” after years in the political wilderness. However, he is sticking to the same roadmap that led his immediate predecessors astray. Delali Adogla-Bessa advocates a new path.
The first major news item of 2025 in Ghana was the fire that razed large parts of the Kantamanto market in Accra on January 2. The fire, which also drew international attention due to its ties to the ills of fast fashion, devastated thousands of traders and forced them into a “reset” they certainly had not planned for.
Days later, a political reset began with new president John Mahama’s swearing-in. Backed by an overwhelming majority of Ghanaian voters, it was a remarkable political comeback for Mahama—who had also been president of Ghana between 2012 and 2017—but now promised sweeping changes, from governance to the economy to the environment. All of these were in a smouldering crisp after the fiery misgovernance of the just-previous Akufo-Addo administration.
Sadly, just as the Kantamanto market continues to succumb to fires, Ghana’s government may well remain plagued by the same ills. The discouraging similarities between the two do not bode well for the prospects of our democracy over the next four years.
Traders are familiar with rebuilding after fire
I visited Kantamanto Market shortly after the fire to observe some of the recovery efforts. Traders in the popular second-hand clothes hub are familiar with rebuilding after a fire disaster. In the past 15 years, at least five major fires have forced similar resets. Little in the way of lessons has been learned, though.
After the most recent fire, the Ghana National Fire Service complained about issues ranging from spacing problems to obstructed hydrants, poor wiring, and cooking activities in the market. A spokesperson for the fire service told me that warnings and pleas to ensure the market is rebuilt to better standards were ignored. It’s not difficult to understand why: while some shops are now opting for expensive concrete materials to mitigate risk, the vast majority are returning to cheaper plywood to get back on their feet. For those of you betting, feel free to bet your house on the Kantamanto market being razed again.
Ignored concerns
Like most traders in Kantamanto, President Mahama is opting for the same materials and methods that preceded the governments being angrily booted out in 2016 and 2024. While it is understandable that loyalists to his political party, the National Democratic Congress (NDC), will be appointed to key ministerial positions, he is taking the same old route of filling the leadership of every state agency with partisan figures in a manner that has repeatedly undermined our governance structures.
The power of appointment currently vested in Ghana’s president means that every state organisation, down to the district level, is infiltrated and run by partisan elements, while the public interest takes a back seat. The president likely appoints close to 1,000 people, if not more.
Like the warnings from the fire service and existing regulations, concerns from civil society groups and other critics about our governance structure over the years have been ignored. Inexperienced individuals are being elevated because of partisan ties, while others are being catapulted to head redundant institutions. Competence and the energy to do right by the country take a backseat. The ‘job for the boys’ culture is alive and well.
The ‘jobs for the boys’ culture is alive and well
Indeed, the response to the Kantamanto market fire, now a mere footnote, could arguably be seen as one of the early failings of the Mahama administration. This is especially true given the government’s passive stance, permitting business as usual at a time when robust regulation and institutional support are crucial. Why, after nearly annual devastating fires, does a government fail to take action to foster improved infrastructure — even if it requires subsidies — ensuring the protection of fire hydrants and the monitoring of access routes for the fire brigade?
Likewise, why would the NDC campaign on a mantra of “change and reset,” only to revert to the same methods that fomented disdain against past governments? Why, amid all the rhetoric, hasn’t there been a plan to free critical regulatory and investigative bodies from the partisan tentacles of the executive and the political machinery they rode to power on?
Like a few new stalls at Kantamanto that will be upgraded, there are some signs of positivity for this administration. Honest defenders can point to the work of the Constitution Review Committee as promising. A few good appointments have observers bubbling with optimism for sectors like fisheries. The fact that some NDC grassroots supporters are upset with the appointment to head the revenue authority is, I guess, a good sign. But none of these will contribute to the strong whiplash needed to breathe life into our democracy. For example, on the scourge of illegal mining, there has only been posturing.
Loyal thugs
The Mahama administration is thereby setting the wrong tone for its supporters and sowing the same seeds of impunity that allowed thugs loyal to the previous Akufo-Addo administration to wreak havoc in state institutions and even in the courts. Following the NDC’s election victory, new supporters of the ruling party have been on the rampage, while the government has offered little in the way of convincing condemnation, let alone pushing for arrests despite attacks on several state institutions.
Government must set example and provide services
It is worth noting that our political class has always benefited from the lack of standards and poor governance. These phenomena have created chaos in society as well, resulting in many adapting to uncertainty, patronage, and corruption. Therefore, again, in a comparison with the Kantamanto market, pushing regulations on citizens only will not help if the government itself does not set the example. It is illustrative that, after the massive Kantamanto fire of May 2013, researchers noted that traders who had lost their livelihoods were still bullish about their prospects. If the only change were in the form of new strict regulations—which would mean excessive compliance costs, like being forced to use fire-proof material for the stalls—this would mean the death of many businesses in the market.
The status quo of lax regulations, the statelessness of such places, and the flexible access to goods, as well as technically freely leased land “whose returns are unparalleled” would have to be replaced with something better—not strangulation.
First and foremost, the government should get its own public services in order. In the case of the market, better services and opportunities for traders would then get many on board for change. (Of course, a serious government would begin by researching the needs in dialogue with traders and consumers.) Similar approaches could work in society as a whole.
Crucial appointments
Fixing things should therefore not stop at the appointment of competent state officials rather than partisan supporters, though this step remains crucial. Only with the help and insights of such officials, and through dialogue with sectors of society, can a new path be crafted. Admittedly, the prospects for this are dim, given that Mahama is now in the midst of a second four-year term. Nevertheless, progress can be made if appointments are made in the correct way.
In this respect, a lot is riding on the ongoing constitutional review process and the expected recommendations for a review of the president’s excessive powers of appointment. As long as the president appoints the Attorney-General, the Chief Justice, and the heads of critical anti-corruption and other agencies, one cannot expect corruption to be nipped in the bud as it happens. The ‘anti-corruption’ fight will then, as customary, only take place after eight years, when power changes hands and enforcement starts to resemble a witch-hunt.
The President must remember his pledge to reset Ghana
My favourite bit of Mahama’s victorious election manifesto—“We the people will reset Ghana and build the nation we want together”—should be put into practice, starting with appointments and political will. I hope that when civil society groups, the constitutional review committee, activists, and Ghanaians in general speak about things going wrong, the president remembers this pledge to “reset Ghana” with all the people, not merely those from his partisan cohort.
Mahama could demonstrate a commitment to true change by properly considering the various developmental studies collecting dust on shelves. These surveys, funded by the likes of the World Bank among others, propose resilient plans that could safeguard citizens from fire disasters and many other perennial problems like flooding.
Whatever economic healing Mahama could leave us with in four years, it won’t be worth much if he does not reset the foundations of a governance framework that he and other governments have benefited from in the past, at the expense of the people.
