By Richard Attenkah
Following the frequent fire outbreaks sweeping across the length and breadth of the country, especially at market places, rendering traders, business men and women as well as market women jobless, penniless and indebted, the Ashaiman Municipal Assembly (ASHMA) is making moves to prevent such occurrences within its jurisdiction.
The move is also to make the Assembly proactive to preventing fire outbreaks in the Municipality, rather than waiting for it to occur before attempting to extinguish it.
Consequently, a stakeholders meeting was held in the Municipality, involving representatives of the Ashaiman Municipal Security Coordinating Council (MUSEC) and the various markets in the area.
In an interview with a section of the Tema media, Mr. Joshua Adams Asihene, the new Coordinating Director of ASHMA, noted that the meeting was to find ways to change all unauthorised and poor electrical wiring systems in the markets among other initiatives.
Mr. Asihene explained that the meeting was also to ensure that none of the traders, market women, business men and women operating in the Municipality lose any investment as a result of fire outbreaks.
Explaining the role of each of the stakeholders, Mr. Asihene noted that Ghana Fire Service (GNFS) had come up with regular educational programmes to sensitise the market women on precautionary measures and some methods of extinguishing fires.
The GNFS has also started distributing fire extinguishers to the market women at affordable prices, so as to ensure that not only would the extinguishers become common equipment in the market, but useful tools to save money.
The Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), on the other hand, has been instructed to move into the market and disconnect all illegal wiring systems and all over-aged live wires, and also see to it that its personnel re-wire all the stalls in the market.
He continued that since the markets were the assembly’s major source of revenue, it would ensure that the centers were given the needed facelift and provided with adequate lights to improve upon security there.
Present at the stakeholders meeting were personnel from the GNFS, ECG, representatives from the state security agencies, as well as the queenmothers of the various markets within the Municipality.