President John Evans Atta Mills says the government will begin a programme to give selected markets in Accra a facelift in May this year. The redevelopment work will involve decongestion, the construction of drains and the general rehabilitation of structures in the markets as part of the government’s better Ghana agenda. President Mills announced the intended facelift when he paid a visit to the Maamobi, Nima and Mallam Atta markets in the Ayawaso East Constituency in Accra Tuesday to acquaint himself with developments in the area. The President appeared to be worried about the deplorable situation in the markets, particularly poor sanitation conditions, poor drainage systems and congestion. The one-hour visit by the President brought the already busy markets to their knees, as enthusiastic market women and a large crowd thronged the markets to catch a glimpse of him, amid drumming, singing and dancing. It took the security detail of the President a hectic time to control the crowd to facilitate the visit. Eager to establish the veracity of recent media reports that the price of a ball of kenkey, a local food, had shot up, the President purchased four balls of kenkey at 50Gp each. He used the occasion to appeal against the politics of untruths, saying, “What is right is right and what is wrong is wrong.” President Mills assured the market women of the government’s commitment to improve the poor conditions there for them to go about their work, saying things would soon “move in the right direction”. He lauded the market women for their contribution to the economy, saying, “We are not unaware of your immense contributions to better the lot of our people. We are doing our best to have your dreams come true.” The Mayor of Accra, Mr Alfred Vanderpuije, who accompanied the President on the tour, said the Accra Metropolitan Assembly was on course to keep the city clean and devoid of criminal activities. The Market Queen of Mallam Atta, Asafoanye Ogbedee, thanked the President for taking time off his busy schedule to visit the market and described the gesture by the President as “a show of exemplary leadership”.