In Accra, Ghana, the committee appointed by the Minister of Local Government, Decentralization, and Rural Development (MLGDRD), Hon. Daniel Botwe, to investigate the fire outbreak that destroyed a portion of the recently built Kejetia market in the Ashanti Region, delivered its findings today.
The report includes conclusions and suggestions, among other things, to prevent a repeat of the disaster and to guarantee the market is operated, maintained, and managed efficiently overall.
The five-member committee, led by Professor Theophilus Adjei-Kumi, a lecturer in the Department of Construction Technology and Management at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), finished its work and presented its findings. Along with Mrs. Emelia Ayebeng Botchway, regional cordinating director at the Ashanti Regional Coordinating Council, Mr. Francis Koffie-ESQ, a private attorney and managing director of M/S Koffie and Partners, Mr. Kofi Ampong, a valuer, property manager, and real estate consultant, Mr. Daniel Kwaku Denteh, the deputy director general of the National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO), and Mr. Kofi Ampong are other committee members.
Professor Theophilus Adjei-Kumi, the committee’s chairman, thanked the minister for placing their trust in them to do such a crucial task and said that it was an honor for them to serve their country in that position.
He said that in order to reach the conclusions and recommendations that have been included in the report, the committee engaged and interacted with a variety of market users and stakeholders, including traders, management, and a host of others.
After receiving the report, Hon. Daniel Botwe expressed his gratitude to the committee and his sincere congratulations on finishing and submitting their task.
He assured the committee of his commitment to taking the findings of the report very seriously and to follow through on the implementation to the final conclusion on the recommendations proffered.
On the 15th of March, 2023, there were media reports on a massive fire that engulfed the recently constructed Kejetia Market in Kumasi.
The inferno gutted parts of the market. And at the time it was unclear what triggered the outbreak, which left traders and the general public in shock and despair as the fire was fought by personnel from the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS).
In a swift response, the Ministry of Local Government, Decentralization and Rural Development moved in to ascertain what had happened and subsequently set up a five-member committee on the 17th of March, 2023 to probe the incident.
Source: Ghanatodayonline.com/Yaw Boadi