The Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) has called on the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), to help deal with issues of illegal connection, by conducting an assessment in the various markets across the country.
Speaking with the media, the Public Relations Officer of the GNFS, Mr Ellis Robinson Okoe, said some of the recent market fires are partly due to illegal power connections and also attributed it to the negligence on the part of traders in the markets.
“A lot of these markets have illegal connection with respect to electricity and for that matter the least carelessness and negligence on the side of users of this facility can cause fire outbreak.”
His call, comes on the back of the recent fire outbreaks the country has witnessed in various markets across the nation, which has resulted in the loss and destruction of numerous properties worth millions of Ghana cedis at Odawna market, Kantamanto, Kaneshie, and Koforidua markets.
In the quest to help prevent these outbreaks from happening again, he therefore appealed to the ECG to conduct an immediate assessment and disconnect all such illegal connections in markets across the country.
He further stated that, carelessness and negligence on the part of users of electricity can result in another fire outbreak and that the GNFS will call on the market authorities to ensure that such mistakes are not repeated.
“In most of these markets, the areas that got burnt have been secured and we are going to collaborate with the market authorities during re-construction to ensure that the very mistakes that were made to cause this outbreak will not be repeated.”
Over the past weeks, the country has witnessed a series of fire outbreaks in some markets across the nation which has resulted in losses of all forms of monetary and properties which have all been gutted by fire.
The issue has got traders worried because of the huge losses related with the outbreaks.
Although some believe the outbreaks are as a result of the numerous illegal connections in the various markets, others are also of the view that, it may be a deliberate attempt by certain persons within the opposition NDC to exhibit their displeasure against the results declared by the Electoral Commission.
In this regard, the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) yesterday accused members of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) of setting up and being behind the recent fire outbreaks being experienced in the country.
In a statement signed by the General Secretary of the NPP, John Boadu on Monday, December 21, 2020, he stated that, the reoccurrence and the rate at with which the various markets were catching fire, coupled with the constant alleged threats by some persons of the opposition to burn markets in order to amplify their rejection of the declared presidential of the 2020 general elections, leaves no doubt that they are behind fire outbreaks.
He also disclosed that some ranking members of the opposition party were involved and behind these outbreaks.
