Kwesi Aning questions impact of announcing arsonists' arrest

Security analyst, Dr. Emmanuel Kwesi Aning says if government's announcement of arrests made in connection with recent market fires is to deter arsonists, then it has failed.

The Head of the Department of Research at the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPTC) in Accra said the impact of the announcement has not been effective.

Last Thursday, Deputy Information and Media Relations Minister Ibrahim Murtala Mohammed announced the security agencies have arrested suspected arsonists

According to him, the impact of the communication, was to re-assure the public of government’s commitment to solve the problem and also to send a signal to other potential suspects to desist from any other attempt.

But following another fire incident at Suame in Kumasi on Tuesday, the security expert says if arsonists are behind this latest incident, then the worst is yet to come.

This Tuesday another fire in Kumasi burnt down 8 shops and four vehicles.

This is the second market fire in a month in Kumasi, Ashanti regional capital after a similar occurrence in the Central Market on June 16, 2013.

Dr. Kwasi Aning added the spate of illegal connections and inferior cables shows the country is “waiting for worse disasters.”

He rated fire outbreaks as now assuming an important position in the hierarchy of potential security threats.

Dr. Kwesi Aning said the fire incidents increase fears of insecurity of investments by businessmen and women.

He recommended a wider approach to involve officials of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), Ghana Fire Service (GFS) and Customs Excise and Preventive Services (CEPS), to deal with issues such as poor quality of electrical cables and illegal connections.