The Bureau of Public Safety says the country may continue to record fire outbreaks in its markets unless it begins to make public reports of earlier incidents and implement findings stated in these reports.
Executive Director of the Bureau of Public Safety, Nana Yaw Akwada, stressed that until that is done, these fires would continue to be prevalent.
“As for the issues of market fires, after 2013 every market fire that occurred within our country was self-inflicted. After we brought in FBI experts to come and help us demystify and understand the incessant market fires, up till date, nobody knows the content of that report, apart from the ministers and the president and the people who matter. So, how can we make any meaningful fight against disasters?”
“There are a plethora of issues that contribute to these fires and until we are able to make use of the reports that the taxpayers’ money has been used to fund, lift from it the various recommendations and hold duty bearers accountable for aspects they had to do, we can’t complain.”
Some fire outbreaks have been recorded across the country, with the most recent being the Akim Oda Central Market incident in the Birim Central Municipality of the Eastern Region.
It is unclear what caused the fire, but properties worth thousands of Ghana cedis belonging to traders were lost in the inferno.
Another was recorded at Makola in Accra in July this year, and it took several days to douse the flames.
The affected building has subsequently been pulled down after an assessment revealed its structural integrity had been compromised.