Parts of the Kejetia Market, one of the monumental projects in the Asanti Regional capital, Kumasi, was on Wednesday engulfed in fire which destroyed wares estimated at millions of Ghana Cedis.
The cause of the fire is not yet officially known. However, reports so far indicate that it was due to a trader cooking with gas.
Meanwhile, documents provided by the Managing Editor of the Insight newspaper, Kwesi Pratt Jnr indicates that the Kejetia market failed to meet some requirement.
"A year ago, infact eleven months ago, that report I think was written in April . . . we are in March so eleven months ago we were warned," he told Kwami Sefa Kayi.
The document cited structural defects, the facility not meeting the fire precaution measures and many others.
"All washing rooms need to undergo preventive maintenance to correct damages on the materials and equipment installed. All the washrooms have problems with faucets, toilets and plumbing. Preventive maintenance must also be carried out so that the system remains in constant and correct operation.
"It was identified that the ice machine has and continues to present substantial leaks of both hydraulic oil and gas. Nevertheless, the equipment is still in operation, increasing the existing damage that will further compromise the equipment.
"Currently, the occupation of the market is not in line with the originally defined plans and in case of an emergency, the evacuation routes are not cleared of obstructions.
"The most worrisome are the issues related to the fire fighting and fire suppression system that are not working as designed. In the case of fire, severe consequences can arise that might cause loss of life," portions of the document read.
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