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 at the weekend. 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". Source: GNA