Augustine Guure, an aspirant for the National Democratic Congress (NDC) chairmanship of the Talensi constituency, has raised serious concerns about the location of a planned 24-hour economy market, arguing that the current site wastes an opportunity to boost revenue, create jobs and strengthen security in the area.
Speaking on the Bluewaves Breakfast Show, Guure, who also chairs the Justice and Security Committee of the Talensi District Assembly, said the Tindongo market already generates more income than any other market in the district. A facility of that scale, he noted, typically comes with supporting infrastructure such as police posts, fire posts and clinics.
“But where have we sited the 24-hour economy market? We have sited it between a fire post, a police station, the district police station and the district fire station,” Guure said. He questioned whether the land is private or community land and stressed that a better located market would allow stores rented by market women to generate direct and indirect taxes for the assembly while attracting further development through improved security.
Guure highlighted an unfinished police station in the eastern zone of the district. The facility, constructed during his predecessor’s tenure and already standing when he took office as assemblyman in 2023, has never been commissioned despite repeated calls. He said he had appealed for its commissioning while the assembly was drilling boreholes across the district, at a time when insecurity was a major problem. The local police commander, he added, had also raised the same concerns.
“I don’t know whether it is being avoided for political expediency so that when it is done, people will say it was because of this person or that person. But this was an opportunity,” Guure stated. If authorities are unwilling to open the Shiga police post, he argued, they should at least site the new market in a location that strengthens the economic viability of the area and benefits the whole of Talensi through jobs, infrastructure and reduced insecurity.
He pointed out that residents currently have to seek backup from the regional command during conflicts. A stronger local police presence, he said, would change that reality.
Guure also used the opportunity to call for greater local representation at the Pwalugu Police Training School. Without being xenophobic, he said, government institutions of this kind normally reserve a percentage of opportunities for people from nearby communities and districts. He suggested that at least three trainees from the district or region should be retained at the facility for three years after graduation before possible reposting, arguing that this would help address insecurity. He urged authorities to check how many of the more than 1,300 people currently at the school are from Talensi, noting that other regions operate quota systems.
Guure maintained that proper siting of the market and commissioning of existing security infrastructure would create a more secure and economically vibrant district for all residents.
By Gayheart Abraham
Source: Mybluewavesonline.Com/ Maurice Duncan | Bolgatanga
