Ghana Life: Market Carts

In Ghana’s cities, the cheapest and most widely used freight service is provided by teams of boys pushing and pulling flat-top market carts built from four car wheels. In Kumasi, the cars are made by artisans, steelmakers and carpenters, who work in Suame Magazine, the largest informal industrial zone in Ghana. In the novel ‘The Colonial Knight’s Son’, Kwame Mainu goes from being a cart puller to a fabricator. What follows is a description of how he sold the first cart of his in Kejetia market, Kumasi, which is said to be the largest market in West Africa.

Few people could have been prepared in advance for the impact of the Kejetia market and Kwame was no exception. What Suame was to repair and manufacture, Kejetia was to trade. However, while Suame was confused and irregular, Kejetia was orderly and regular. Long rows of identical market stalls ran for hundreds of yards in a straight line or in gentle curves up the hill. Between the rows of stalls were paths packed with people. There was packed earth underfoot, but unlike Suame, the surface was reasonably flat and unobstructed. Some market carts carried loads around the market, but Kwame found that during the day it was a slow and difficult process because the roads were so congested. The main transportation of goods, he supposed, must be done at night or early in the morning before the start of business.

Standing near the market entrance, Kwame wondered what to do next. Should he try to enter the market with his cart and do business, or would it be better to leave and return at a quieter time? People were milling everywhere, and he feared that he would be accused of obstructing the flow of buyers into the market. He then heard a voice behind him say “That’s a very nice cart. Is it for sale?”

Kwame turned to find a short, fat man with a shiny bald head grinning at him. “Why do you think he is for sale?” Kwame asked. “Well, it can’t be for hire with just you to push it,” the man said. Then he held out his hand “I’m Uncle George, or at least that’s what everyone calls me around here. I operate more market carts than anyone else in Kejetia. I’m looking to upgrade my fleet; replace some of the old wrecks, so I’m really looking forward to it.” interested in your new model”.

“Well, yes, I suppose I could sell it to you,” Kwame said, “but it’s a bit more expensive than the standard model, I’m afraid.”

Kwame mentioned a number that would give him a good profit margin. Uncle George frowned. “I didn’t expect to pay that much,” he said. They haggled over the price for a while, but Kwame was unable to lower the price he had paid the craftsman, and negotiations stalled. “All right, young man,” said Uncle George finally, “will you give me the car at my price if I ask for another ten?” Kwame’s heart skipped a beat; he now he was in business!

Kwame didn’t know how he was going to produce ten good carts at the price Uncle George had offered him, but he was determined to find a way. However, before returning to Suame, he decided to explore further in the city center. Not far from Kejetia Kwame found another large market called Asafo and heard that there were more markets located in each of the main suburbs of the city. On the roads of the city center, Kwame observed many cars in operation. Some carried boxes of produce from the market and others were laden with construction materials, wood products for carpentry, furniture and household items such as refrigerators and washing machines. There seemed to be no limit to the loads that were carried and no limit to the distance that they were delivered. Carts provided a low-cost freight service that almost everyone could afford. Kwame had thought he knew all about market cart operations, but he had never imagined anything on this scale before. He felt that he had arrived in the tram market capital of the world.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *