GOVT, NPP SUPPORT KANTAMANTO FIRE VICTIMS (BACK PAGE)

The government and the New Patriotic Party (NPP) yesterday donated building materials worth GH¢38,000 and seed capital of GH¢10,000 for the reconstruction of the Kantamanto Market, which was destroyed by fire last Monday.
The building materials comprised 3,000 pieces of roofing sheets and 800 bags of cement.
The first donation of 1,000 pieces of roofing sheets, 300 bags of cement and GH¢10,000 was presented by Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, on behalf of Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, the party’s presidential aspirant, for the establishment of a revolving fund,
Dr Bawumia said the revolving fund, to be called Odofopa Fund, would be used to grant credit facilities to the traders who have lost their goods to enable them to re-start their businesses.
He said the fund would be increased from time to time to ensure that all the affected traders who contributed significantly to the country’s economy could continue to contribute their quota and not be left to their plight as had been the case in the past.
The government delegation which was led by the Vice-President, Alhaji Aliu Mahama, and included the Minister of the Interior, Dr Kwame Addo Kufuor, made a donation of 500 bags of cement and 2,000 (100 packets) pieces of roofing sheets to the victims who number about 623, according to a spokesman.
Receiving the items on behalf of the traders, Mr Kwaku Danso, Chairman of the Kantamanto Youth Association, appealed to Ghanaians, especially the business community who have dealings with the traders at Kantamanto, to come to their aid.
He said what the traders needed urgently are sand and stones to rebuild their stores and that the traders would require 3,115 bags of cement and more than 4,200 pieces of roofing sheets to enable them to rebuild the market.
He said those mostly affected were cloth sellers, shoes and school uniforms sellers who had experienced three fire outbreaks in the past six years and the seed money and building materials were going to cushion them against the losses they had incurred over the years.
Mr Danso said after the three outbreaks, no political party or philanthropist came to their aid and paid tribute to the ruling government for their support and sympathy.
Mr Danso also appealed to the Department of Urban Roads and the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) which collected taxes from the traders to rehabilitate the road in front of the Kantamanto Market instead of waiting for the unfortunate to happen before coming to their rescue.