Managing Editor of the “Searchlight” Newspaper, Ken Agyei Kuranchie, has stated that the announcement by President John Dramani Mahama that fire experts from the United States of America will be engaged to ascertain the real causes of some devastating fire outbreaks recently because they are not natural, opens the flood gates for interrogation of what could be the motivation of the alleged perpetrators.

According to him, the only group of people who would have reason for burning down these markets, especially those in and around the Central Business District, are members of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) party since it will inure to their benefit.

“…the burning down of Kantamanto Market, Makola Markets and other places like that is politically advantageous to a party in this country, and I mean the National Democratic Congress (NDC). Do you remember that during the registration before the elections, Nii Lantey Vanderpuije attempted to stop traders at the Kantamanto market from partaking in the registration exercise?

“So today, if the market is not there, the people would also move out of the place, would there be any political opposition in that area”? He asked Adakabre on Adom FM.

The newspaper editor was at a loss as to why the Chief Executive Officer of the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA), Alfred Oko Vanderpuije, will move bulldozers and other heavy duty machinery to the scene of the wreckage barely twenty-four hours after the market was razed down by fire, with the mindset of demolishing the entire market.

“Why? Why don’t you conduct investigations before?..Why are markets still burning after a directive by the AMA boss for all the markets in the metropolis to close at 6:00pm due to security concerns?” He asked.

To him, “the most frightening of all” was a Ghanaian Times publication of 24th April, 2013 with the caption, ‘Facelift For Ga Mashie’. According to the said publication, “Ga mashie, which is the heart of the Ga state, is over populated with scattered dilapidated buildings and is to be given a facelift. Also to be given a facelift are Agbogbloshie, Salaga, Makola and Kantamanto Markets, all located within the Central Business District.”

Still paraphrasing from the publication, Ken Kuranchie disclosed that Nii Lantey Vanderpuije, the MP for Odododiodioo Constituency, which covers the areas afore-mentioned, announced at a meeting with his constituents that “an international estate developer has expressed interest in developing the area with the support of the people”.

“Adakabre, I would want to know if the estate developer who is coming to construct modern buildings would have built them on top of the market sheds?” the “Searchlight” editor sarcastically asked the host of the show.