I have not read report on Kumasi fire - KMA boss admits

Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA) Chief Executive, Kojo Bonsu, has admitted he has not read a key report on market fires put together by the Assembly after fire ravaged the market on the 31 December, 2012.

He made the admission during an interview on Joy Fm’s Top Story.

Sunday, another fire incident occurred in the morning at the Kumasi Market centre, razing down shops and destroying properties worth thousands of Ghana cedis.

On 31st December 2012, another Sunday night fire outbreak razed down at least 15 shops resulting in the destruction of properties worth hundreds of thousands of Ghana Cedis.

This prompted the authorities to set up a committee to do an extensive assessment of the causes of the fire. The report called for an electrical audit of all markets in the metropolis.

Six months down the line, the report remains unimplemented. Luv FM’s Erastus Asante reported on 23rd May this year of the possibility of another fire outbreak.

It appears the fear has become a reality.

The KMA boss says he has not read the report because as a 'new man’ at post, there are many other reports needing his attention.

“I have not really seen it..it will take time, I have loads of handing-over notes to look at,” Kojo Bonsu said. He stated that, in view of the urgency of the situation, the Assembly needed to do something to assuage the pain of the victims of the fire.

Part of these measures, Kojo Bonsu said, includes allowing victims to build temporal structures at the same site of the market fire- the central market. The traders have also agreed to allow the Assembly to build a new market when resources for such a project are ready.

He has also allocated GHC200,000 to help the victims put up these structures. Engineers of the Assembly are to work to prevent any faulty wiring, which may cause fire in the future.

He said allocating the GHC200,000 will not affect the work of the Assembly because such emergencies had been catered for in the budget.

He said the measures outlined have been well received by the traders.

“Yes they have accepted my offer”, he announced.