News:
June 6, 2013
Mr Ibrahim Murtala Mohammed, Deputy Minister of Information and Media Relations, has stated that much as government cannot confirm that all the fire outbreaks witnessed in certain parts of the country recently have been orchestrated, it is also possible that such a probability could not be ruled out.
“Government has set up an investigation team to find out the causes of those fire outbreaks, particularly in our major markets, and we do not want to base our arguments on mere conjecture,” he added.
Mr Mohammed who gave the explanation during the daily media briefings at Flagstaff House on Wednesday, added that apart from the investigations, government had also issued out other measures that would help curb the fire outbreaks.
About eight fire outbreaks have been recorded in Accra and Kumasi this year alone, destroying goods running into several millions of Ghana Cedis.
The Deputy Minister mentioned the closure of markets at 6pm, banning of cooking in the markets and the stepping up of surveillance as some of the interim measures government had adopted to avoid the recurrence of fire outbreaks.
He explained that the long term measures would include proper layouts and wiring in the markets, proper passages and the strengthening of security in all the major markets of the country.
Mr Mohammed who conveyed government’s sympathy to victims of the Tuesday Makola fire, advised all traders in the major markets of the country to apply for insurance policies that would assist them to recover some loses in such accidental circumstances.
He announced that President John Dramani Mahama who was on a three-nation visit to Ethiopia, France and Japan would be arriving on Wednesday evening, adding that the trip had been beneficial as Ghana would be gaining financially to develop her infrastructure.
The Deputy Minister said some of the negotiations had yielded some financial dividends that would be used for the rehabilitation of bridges, especially the Adomi Bridge, which had encountered some challenges over the years.
GNA