Rehabilitate Salaga, London markets - NDC Organiser

Accra, Aug 19, GNA - The Accra Metropolitan Assembly has been called upon to rehabilitate and develop the Salaga and London Markets in Accra to accommodate more hawkers and traders as part of the efforts to decongest the central business district of the city. Mr Samuel Armah, Organiser of the Odododiodoo Constituency of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), made the call in an interview with the GNA in Accra on Saturday.

He noted that the traders and hawkers who were evicted from the streets of Accra had started returning to the central business district of the capital defeating the purpose for the exercise to ease the area of both human and vehicular traffic.

Instead of rehabilitating and expanding existing facilities to take the teeming number of traders in the capital, the city authorities rather decided to develop the pedestrian or hawkers market near the Kwame Nkrumah circle area, he said.

Mr Armah pointed out that the area was not suitable for a market in view of the fact that it was on a low-lying ground close to the Odaw River, which was prone to floods whenever it rained and in the "Heart of the City".

He said it was not properly situated since the purpose of the whole decongestion exercise was to rid the city centre of congestion as a result of the activities of traders with their attendant refuse and filth creation, which did not befit the status of the capital city. The NDC Organiser suggested that the facilities at the Salaga and London markets could be developed into storey buildings to take in more traders and said, "I hope the new facility at the Circle was not developed as avenue to put money into the pockets of some people since thousands of traders had to go through a tedious task of registering for allocation from the limited number of space available". "All the same many of the traders could not get allocation while most of the people have come out of the market to sell on the streets again," he said.

Mr Armah criticised the National Youth Employment Programme (NYEP) and said he hoped that the programme was not only a means to "create jobs for the boys" and wonder why those employed under the sanitation module could not be placed under the sanitation and environmental departments of the various Assemblies to clean communities. He said there seemed to be a duplication of effort since one could not tell who was in-charge of sanitation in the city and asked, "Is it the AMA or the Zoom Lion Company under the NYEP".

The NDC Organiser also asked why those employed under the Community Policing Module of the programme could not be placed under the City Guard Department of the AMA to strengthen it if indeed they were not to be regarded as "Party Police" for the government.

Mr Armah said the government claims to have built thousands of school blocks throughout the country under its various social interventions and asked for a break down stating the regions, districts and towns since he had not seen any new block in the city and other big towns.

"I do not think the cities do not need more school buildings. The shift system is still being practiced in some schools in the city and more school buildings are needed to promote effective teaching and learning for the kids," Mr Armah said.

He stated that the government should not be selective in its allocation of projects and said, "I hope the NPP government is not depriving Accra and other big towns from such development projects because opposition to their mismanagement and misrule is more in the urban areas".

Mr Armah noted that roads in the capital were in a very bad shape and wondered if the various Urban Development projects to upgrade facilities had been stopped in the capital, saying, "During the time of the NDC government asphalt roads were being constructed in the city and Kumasi under the Urban 1, II and III projects but these days we are only seeing bitumen surfaced streets that do not last". The NDC Organiser urged the government not to think too much about retaining power and to consider the interest of the country above their personal interest.

"Governments would come and go but the nation Ghana would remain forever," he said.

He urged the people not to be swayed by money and other gifts to support the government since it was not living up to its duty of ensuring good governance.

Mr Armah called on Ghanaians to compare their standard of living now under the government of President Kufuor and the New Patriotic Party with the era of the NDC under President Rawlings. He said Ghanaians were clamouring for a change in 2000 and, "After tasting the NDC and the NPP administrations the difference is clear". The NDC Organiser called on the people to vote for Professor John Evans Atta Mills and the NDC in the 2008 elections to ensure an improvement in their standard of living and to guarantee a bright future for the generation yet to come.