The Minority on Parliament’s Local Government and Rural Development Committee has proposed that funds allocated to 24-Hour Market projects in districts where there is little demand be redirected towards completing stalled Agenda 111 hospital projects.

The Ranking Member of the Committee, Francis Asenso-Boakye, made the suggestion during a capacity-building workshop for Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs) in Accra.

According to him, some districts already have existing markets that are not being fully utilised, making the construction of additional markets less urgent.

He argued that in such cases, government could consider investing the funds in other priority areas, particularly healthcare infrastructure.

“As District Assembly officials and political actors, you are supposed to build 24-Hour Markets but I have realised that in many districts, they do not really need the 24-Hour Markets because there are existing markets already which are underutilised,” he said.

Mr Asenso-Boakye stated that he had raised the matter with the Health Minister and suggested that resources earmarked for markets in areas where they are not needed could be channelled into completing Agenda 111 projects.

“I was asking the Health Minister whether he will make a case that in situations where you don’t need these 24-Hour Markets, can we invest the money in other areas which will certainly include the provision of healthcare infrastructure like the Agenda 111,” he added.