py-scientific fails to build

[milosh@…]

py-scientific's build stops on my ppc panther mac with the following error:

--->  Building py-scientific with target build
Using netCDF installation in  /opt/local
running buildrunning build_py
running build_ext
building 'Scientific_netcdf' extension
/usr/bin/gcc-4.0 -fno-strict-aliasing -Wno-long-double -no-cpp-precomp -mno-fused-madd -fno-common -fno-common -dynamic -DNDEBUG -g -O3 -Wall -Wstrict-prototypes -I/opt/local/include/python2.4 -I/opt/local/var/macports/build/_usr_macports_python_py-scientific/work/ScientificPython-2.6/Include -IInclude -I/opt/local/include -I/opt/local/Library/Frameworks/Python.framework/Versions/2.4/include/python2.4 -c Src/Scientific_netcdf.c -o build/temp.macosx-10.3-ppc-2.4/Src/Scientific_netcdf.o
Src/Scientific_netcdf.c: In function 'set_attribute':
Src/Scientific_netcdf.c:468: error: 'Py_ssize_t' undeclared (first use in this function)
Src/Scientific_netcdf.c:468: error: (Each undeclared identifier is reported only once
Src/Scientific_netcdf.c:468: error: for each function it appears in.)
Src/Scientific_netcdf.c:468: error: parse error before 'len'
...
...
Src/Scientific_netcdf.c:2088: error: 'ssizessizeobjargproc' undeclared here (not in a function)
Src/Scientific_netcdf.c:2088: error: parse error before 'PyNetCDFVariableObject_ass_slice'
Src/Scientific_netcdf.c:2092: error: parse error before 'PyNetCDFVariableObject_length'
error: command '/usr/bin/gcc-4.0' failed with exit status 1

Warning: the following items did not execute (for py-scientific): org.macports. + build
Error: Status 1 encountered during processing.

[milosh@…]

This is a duplicate of #13512 (due to the slowness of trac)