This is one of the West African largest open markets in the capital city where you can experience an extra-ordinaire cultural trade from Ghana. Get treated to a variety of different sights, sounds and smells from the Ghanaian ingredients fill the air with their sweet, zesty scents; vintage imported clothing hangs in many of the stalls, and crowds of customers spill onto the narrow streets.
Aside the largest open market in West Africa at the Kejetia, Makola Market is also a renowned market place and shopping district in the centre of the city of Accra, the capital of Ghana. A wide array of products is sold in the markets and its surrounding streets, from car parts to land snails.
Makola market is a predominantly women traders selling fresh produce, manufactured and imported foods, clothes, shoes, tools, medicines, and pots and pans. Jewelry made from locally handcrafted beads can also be found for sale in the market.
How the name Makola came about?
With the understanding that ‘makola’ is a Ga expression, attempts have been made to make a direct translation, which yield such meanings as ‘to pick up a burning coal’, ‘to set up fire for cooking’ and ‘to fetch fire’.
The most persuading of these clarifications is by all accounts that given by Victoria Okoye, who has it from a nearby safety officer that “Makola (or, all the more properly “makolai” in Ga), signifies “kindling” so when ladies en route to this area were asked where they were going, they would answer ‘makolai’ or ‘’where the kindling is’’.
Who built the Makola Market?
The market was built under the direction of Percy Selwyn Selwyn-Clarke, who was posted to the Gold Coast in the Colonial Medical Service in 1919, it was officially called Selwyn Market,
Makola Market during the colonial era was officially constructed in Accra in 1924 and stood at the heart of the urban Ghanaian life. The market was the main wholesale and retail marketplace in Accra, the epicenter of trade in the country and one of the nation’s most important social and cultural institutions.
During the 1948 riots, various shops in Makola Market belonging to foreign merchants were looted in the protests and the subsequent struggle for independence.
On 18 August 1979, 55 years after its creation, Makola Market portions were destroyed by military ruler Jerry J Rawlings in 1979. Indeed, there were accusations that various products considered banned in Ghana were being sold in the Makola Market. In this way, the market women were accused of Ghana’s economic problems.
The government blamed the market queens for causing artificial shortages to spike their profits. The space was then used to build a much-needed car park, known as Rawlings Park, to serve the needs of both traders and visitors.
Today, notwithstanding the presence of numerous different business sectors and shopping centers in Accra, it is as yet the focal point of trading, with large number of individuals from all over to trade. Farming produce from different areas of the nation and different nations, similar to La Cote D’Ivoire and Burkina Faso, come to Makola before they are been distributed to smaller markets in the city.
Why is Makola market a tourist attraction?
Being the Central Business District, there are series of interconnected sections, south of Jamestown, one of the original settlements in Accra. These quarters, like Kantamanto (the largest second clothing market in Ghana), Okaishie, Rawlings Park and Cowlane, segregate the market into distinct sections, where specialised goods and services can be found there.
It is quite an amazing place with lots of very narrow alleyways and women walking about with huge bowls and other packages on their heads. Good place to shop for most things but very crowded most times. Get almost everything you need for your home at reasonable rate.
When visiting, whether for sightseeing or to make purchases, it’s advisable to find a guide, as most of the streets tend to be crowded with hawkers and pedestrians competing for space on the narrow pavements. Also, the subsections are not well labeled unlike the Makola Shopping Mall, so it is easy to get lost in the crowds while searching for something to buy.
How to get to makola market
Makola is located in Accra along the Kojo Thompson road in the Jamestown area and the Rawlings Park. It is a few distance walk from the Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park, Center for National Culture (Accra Arts centre) and the Independence Square.
The significant areas stay open throughout the entire week, from 6am to 8pm with Wednesdays and Saturdays being the busy day.
Also read… Some Popular Foods In West Africa
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