A private developer Okyeadie Nyame Enterprise is suing The MP of Berekum East and two others for obstructing his efforts in the redevelopment of the Rawlings Park market in Berekum.
The developer in a suit filed at the high courts of Sunyani on the 1st of June 2020, avers among other things that, a duly won contract from the Berekum Municipal Assembly in October 2019 to redevelop parts of the Rawlings market into stores in a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) arrangement is being impeded by the MP of Berekum East, Hon Dr. Kwanena Twum Nuama, The NPP chairman of Berekum East, Mr. Kwaku Kankam and SHADDIS limited.
Mr. Okyeadie Kofi Nyame, the managing director of Okyeadie Nyame Enterprise, claims in his suit that, The MP has re-awarded the said contract to SHADDIS Limited and thus being obstructed from working on the site by the MP and the Chairman.
The Rawlings market which is also known as the Yaidom Boakye market is currently under construction under the one million per constituency initiative. The work, which comprises of the construction of some 74 sheds and floor paving, is about 80% complete, as of the last visit by the MP in May 2020.
A contract was awarded in the early last year 2019 to SHADDIS Limited to redevelop the inner market and was scheduled to be completed in October 2019. In January 2019, the Berekum Municipal Assembly put out An Expression of Interest Notice for the redevelopment of the market under a Public-Private Partnership agreement. Okyeadie Nyame Enterprise subsequently put in a bid in February 2019. The Municipal assembly subsequently accepted the tender of Okyeadea Nyame Enterprise in October 2019 to construct a Multipurpose Market Stores under a Build Operate and Transfer (BOT) for twenty-three (23) years.
The reasons given for the PPP arrangement included the fact that the assembly didn’t have sufficient funds to complete the exterior redevelopment into stores, thus the assembly proceeded and opened a bid for private developers to apply under a PPP arrangement to accelerate the completion of the whole project.
However, it must be noted that some ‘previous’ occupants of the market and some members of the Berekum Public have shown displeasure towards the PPP arrangement with reasons such as the duration of the agreement being excessively long, and previous occupant of the market potentially not being able to afford the stores because it’s in the hands of a private developer, thus the Assembly should revert and look for money to redevelop the market.
Mr. Okyeadea is asking the courts to declare that he has a valid contract to redevelop the market, that the MP, the Chairman, and the contractor be restrained and a perpetual injunction placed to allow him to carry out the construction without any further obstruction by the defendants or their agents.
Some opinion leaders of Berekum including Evangelist Paul Osei Agyeman has advised the parties to resort to an alternative dispute resolution to prevent an undue delay of the project, since the project is already far beyond schedule and taking a heavy burden on the market occupants.
The defendants are however expected to enter a defense within the week.
