The Minority members on Parliament’s Local Government and Rural Development Committee have called on government to redirect funds allocated for the 24-hour market initiative towards the completion of abandoned Agenda 111 hospital projects across the country.
The appeal was made by the Ranking Member on the Committee, Francis Asenso-Boakye, during a capacity-building workshop for Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs) held in Accra.
According to him, many districts already have existing market facilities that remain underutilised, making the construction of additional 24-hour markets unnecessary in such areas. He argued that channeling scarce public resources into new market projects where demand is low would not be a prudent use of funds.
“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 them because there are existing markets already which are underutilised,” he stated.
Mr. Asenso-Boakye further revealed that he had engaged the Minister for Health on the possibility of reallocating funds from less critical market projects to priority sectors such as healthcare.
“I was asking the Health Minister whether he will make a case that in situations where you don’t need these 24-hour markets, we can invest the money in other areas, including the provision of healthcare infrastructure like Agenda 111,” he added.
The Agenda 111 initiative, which was launched to address gaps in healthcare delivery by constructing hospitals in underserved districts, has faced delays in completion due to funding challenges.
The Minority believes that redirecting funds from projects with limited immediate impact to critical health infrastructure would help improve access to quality healthcare and accelerate the completion of stalled hospital projects.
Their call adds to growing public discourse on the prioritisation of government spending amid competing development needs.
