Speculations that a woman lighted fire to cause Kejetia outbreak false - Traders

Correspondence from Ashanti Region

Members of the Combined Kejetia Traders Association have expressed worry and disappointment in the leadership of the Kumasi City market for failing to reveal some hidden secrets.

According to the group, it was very worrying that the leadership keep creating suspense on the real issues backing the fire outbreak that recently occurred at the Kejetia market.

They lamented how leaders have failed to come out with any tangible messages to convince traders and the general public despite several petitions by the traders to get such answers.

The group has said, speculations that the fire outbreak was caused by a woman who lighted fire were never true. They said, the real cause is there but it was very unfortunate that the authorities keep hiding.

In a press statement read by Nana Akwasi Prempeh, president of the group, said, members were very worried about not having a preview of any report but the management keep giving different stories on various media platforms.

They said it was very worrying that 807 shops have so far been closed down when in reality, 150 shops were supposed to close down.

"54 shops were affected by the fire and in all about 150 shops were engulfed with the smoke. Over 500 shops that were not affected have been barricaded which we do not understand".

The group said no one has since given them the reasons for sacking innocent traders from their shops without even telling them how soon they were going to get back to their shops or any measures put in place by the management and the board to ensure traders do not get stranded as they are now

The group is also challenging the leadership to publicly come out with a real report after their findings on the cause of the fire. They said the rumors that someone lit a fire to cause the outbreak was neither here nor there.

"Preliminary report that seems to suggest that someone lighted a fire to cause an outbreak is never true. Our investigation has revealed that some explosive chemicals caused the fire and it wasn't caused by any set-up fire".

The group blamed the Kejetia management and the board for looking on for all these unfortunate incidents to occur before coming out with different stories to cover up the real cause.

"We are telling you with this evidence on paper that, the construction firm, Contract Construction limited warned the authorities of a possible outbreak if care was not taken. They presented a report in which they signaled a strong warning to the board of directors and the management that they had found out that the smoke detectors were not working, the detective alarm system was also not working, water sprinklers were not also operating, pressure pump from water sewage was also at fault. They also warned the authorities to be vigilant of the kind of things people sell here since some explosives could cause an outbreak especially when they come into contact". He disclosed.

He said despite these initial warnings, the management and the board failed to do anything about it until the unfortunate incident happened.

Describing the leadership's action as a sign of incompetence, the group demanded that both the management and the board must be dissolved since their existences were a mere waste of time and resources.