Down the street from Mr. and Mrs. O's residence is a
cluster of stalls catering to a mix of construction workers, students,
day-laborers and the more adventurous expats. Some are like
mini-convenience stores, whilst others sell the usual local staples of
fufu, banku and tilapia. Some are semi-permanent metal and wooden
structures while others are basically a folded table and an umbrella,
coming down at night and avoiding any messy taxation issues - namely,
the propensity of vendors to not pay them - and ensuing demolitions by
the Accra Metropolitan Authority, which can be quite devastating for a
micro-entrepreneur.
One business of note is Baba the Kebab Guy. Baba hails from
Bolgatanga in the Upper East and has brought his specialty down south
wih him. For reasons that perplex obrunis, kebab vendors are fairly
scarce in Accra - but a great kebab is good any time of the day. For 50
cents, one can get a stick of beef or sausage, coated in suya spice and
with a bit of onion and green pepper for flavour. So if Baba is not sold
out by the time Mr. O returns from work, everyone gets a nice snack,
with some fried yam or sweet potato from the lady the next stall over.
The combo is fantastic.
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| Baba is no friend of The Man. |
As you can see from the crude red paint on his sign, Baba
is not a diligent taxpayer in the eyes of the AMA. Part of this is due
to the byzantine bureaucratic structure for small business owners to
follow and part of this is him trying to stretch his limited cedis in a
city of inflated costs.
Legal troubles aside, one expects that Baba will be selling his kebabs for a long time to come.
If you are asking, yes, Baba will cater your party. A spicy
beef kebab pairs well with a frosty Club lager, which will set you back
about $2. And he apparently will cook goat or guinea fowl by request.
Order today!
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