Members of Parliament within the Kumasi Metropolis, who have called for stakeholders’ engagement to end rampant fire outbreaks, especially within the commercial areas of the Garden City.
They have called on all those who matter to unite and address the incessant fire outbreaks in Kumasi, since it is having a toll on economic activities.
The group made the call when they visited Suame Magazine, following a fire outbreak that gutted the area and destroyed items running into millions of cedis.
Addressing the media, Mr Asenso-Boakye, Member of Parliament for Bantama and leader of the MPs, noted that the fire incidents in Kumasi have been rampant.
He mentioned places such as Central Market, Race Course, Asafo Market, Tafo Market, Suame Magazine and other areas, as having experienced fire outbreaks.
To Mr Asenso-Boakye, some of the markets are built with non-permanent materials like plastic and wood, which are very combustible. He emphasised that it is high time they engage the state and stakeholders on how to end this menace.
“It is high time the government and stakeholders forge ahead and address this challenge. The issue should not be left to government alone. Stakeholders should be involved for a collective solution,” Mr Asenso-Boakye told the media.
“We want to have more stakeholder engagements with them, through which we will provide education to the people working in the informal business centres like markets and Suame Magazine, so that they would be abreast with safety precautions at their workplace.
Mr Asenso-Boakye mentioned illegal electricity connection and bad planning as key challenges associated with the fire menace in Kumasi.
“Since the structures are not permanent, people resort to illegal connections,” he said, and cited fire outbreaks at Race Course and Bantama Markets as prime examples.
He consoled the Ashanti regional branch of the Ghana National Association of Garages about their losses, emphasising that the association employs over 700,000 people in Ghana, a development he noted, shows that the industrial hub is a force to reckon with.
The Ashanti regional head of the Ghana National Association of Garages, Alhaji Lukeman Mohammed, expressed appreciation to the MPs and appealed to them to engage the government to come to their aid.
“We have lost a lot and we need money to keep us afloat, he said.
John Darko, MP for Suame, Nana Agyei Baffour Awauh. MP for Manhyia South and Michael Aidoo, who represent the good people of Oforikrom constituency accompanied Asenso-Boakye
