NDC government will complete Salaga market in 18 months – Lante Vanderpuye

The Member of Parliament (MP) for Odododiodoo constituency, Edwin Nii Lante Vanderpuye has revealed that the next National Democratic Congress (NDC) government will complete the Salaga Market in Accra.

“The next NDC government will complete the Salaga Market in 18 months,” the MP stated in an interview with Kwame Minkah on Dwaboase which was broadcast live from the palace of Gbese Mantse in the Odododiodoo constituency.

To him, the completion of the market which was commenced during the late 1990s is critical to the development of the local traders who sell their goods in the open and are exposed to all kind of dangers.

“The construction of an ultra-modern market at the Salaga market, although was commenced under the tenure of then Pressident Rawlings, was left to rot when the NPP and President Kufuor took over government until the Mills/Mahama administration decided to give it a facelift. When we the NDC thought of rennovating the market, we held talks with SSNIT to secure a funding for the job. That was when we pleaded with our own Ga brother Ernest Thompson whowas then the SSNIT Boss while our other Ga brother, Professor Joshua Alabi was SSNIT’s Board Chairman. After lobbying for the project to be continued, they agreed to secure a funding for that, but unfortunately we left power and the project stalled again,” Mr Vanderpuye explained.

The reconstruction of the market, which occupies an area size of about 4.74 acres, was expected to have been completed by August 2017.

The project, which was to be constructed at a cost of five million dollars, was expected to be managed by the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) and the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA), however, the market is still in a dilapidated state.

But assuring the hundreds of traders who had gathered at the event grounds, the former Sports Minister said although the Akufo-Addo government which he described as “insensitive” to the plights of the ordinary Ghanaians had refused to continue with the project which will serve as a source of livelihoods for thousands of Ghanaians.

“If you come here, you realise that scores of traders have taken over the streets to sell which is bad. We had plans to build 3000 stalls for the traders out of the existing 300 sheds,” he added.