However, a tour of the mall at mid-morning yesterday showed that Game and ShopRite, the two major supermarkets on the premises, were briskly doing business with some customers.

Scaffolding had been erected at the entrance of ShopRite and in the large passageways through which customers passed to access the various adjoining shops.

The security detail at the place was seen briskly shepherding some journalists on the premises who had been given just 15 minutes to speak to customers under the supervision of the security.

Apart from ShopRite and Game, a couple of other shops were also opened for business, but most were closed.

Mall

The management of the facility was unavailable for comment, but some shoppers whom the Daily Graphic interviewed said they went to pick some groceries at Game and ShopRite.

They said they were, however, unhappy with the erection of the scaffolds, which they complained were creating an inconvenience in movement around the facility.
Some other shoppers were loitering about the scaffolds and leaning on the metals while conversing on their mobile phones or with friends underneath.

The management tried to reach out to patrons of the facility that it was open for business, in spite of the protest by some of the tenants, as banners were seen at vantage points, entrances and various parts of the scaffold announcing to the public that the facility was not closed.

Efforts to get a management member to speak about the closure of most of the shops, however, proved futile.

Statement

Meanwhile, the Accra Mall Tenants Association has issued a statement indicting the management of the facility over its handling of work at the facility.

A statement signed by Dr Emmanuel Maurice Ankrah of Kuukua Legal Consulting said tenants had taken the decision to temporarily close their shops on October 24, 2019.

“This decision has been taken to bring to the fore the onerous conditions under which they operate at the mall. The public would recall that about a year ago, part of the ceiling in the mall collapsed and this affected patronage at the mall, as the public were rightly concerned about their safety.

“Before that section of the ceiling could be fixed, another section of the ceiling at the Game entrance also caved in after a heavy rainfall. Both incidents hugely affected patronage at the mall, which in turn led to a downward spiral of revenue of the tenants,” it said.

It added that despite the numerous protests and engagements with the management of the mall, nothing was done to fix the ceiling until about a month ago when it began the fixing.

“In doing that, the management erected scaffolding in the walkways of the whole mall, although the tenants protested that that would scare customers away. They rather proposed that the scaffolds be erected at the sections where work was being done and then moved to other sections of the ceiling, rather than erecting the scaffolds all over the walkway of the mall.

“The management of the mall, however, ignored the tenants’ concerns and persisted with erecting the scaffolds, with the result being that patronage of the mall has worsened, leaving the tenants in a worse position,” the statement said.

Landlord, tenants meeting

It further stressed that the tenants also raised concerns about the exorbitant rent and the lack of promotional activities by the management to improve revenue, which slumped due to management’s negligence in maintaining the mall, leading to the collapse of the ceilings.

It said to address those concerns, representatives of tenants met with representatives of the Accra Mall landlords on or about September 26, 2019 over the issues.
Among issues discussed at the said meeting were the low patronage at the mall due to the manner in which the ceiling repair works were being done; the insufficient number and deplorable condition of the washrooms at the mall and the insufficient marketing activities to promote the mall and impact sales.

“Tenants, therefore, requested for a reduction in rent during the period of the renovation of the ceiling and a general reduction in rent across the board,” it said.

The statement said the management of the mall and the landlords promised to address the concerns of the tenants two weeks after the said meeting, but failed to do so.

“It is poignant to note that as a result of the concerns raised by the tenants, including the huge rent, which has ultimately led to a slump in patronage and revenue, a huge number of shops, including multinationals from South Africa, have closed shop and left the mall,” it said.

The statement said the tenants, therefore, decided to take the unfortunate decision to close their shops between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. yesterday to protect their huge investments.