Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA) boss, Samuel Pyne, has given reasons why the Kejetia market was closed down after the fire outbreak.
According to him, upon market authorities’ consultations with experts, they were advised to shut down operations until further notice.
He explained that this will help them check and fix any structural, mechanical, and electrical faults that may have been caused by the inferno.
“After the fire outbreak, there was an emergency board meeting and we were advised to allow the contractors who built the market to do an assessment. So they provided an interim report which recommended that we don’t allow anyone entry into the areas that got affected.
“We were also told to check any mechanical and electrical faults in areas closer to the affected areas and there was smoke. And also the structural aspect to know if any part was shaken after the fire and whether there will be any consequences should activities resume in the area,” he said.
He went on: “It was also suggested that we seek a second opinion elsewhere, so we reached out to the KNUST College of Engineering. We are meeting them this morning, so they tour the area and render a report.”
Mr Pyne has urged traders to comply with the orders set by authorities to safeguard their lives and property.
“So that is why we closed the whole area up until yesterday some of the traders upon a directive shared on their page were asked to gather there in their numbers. So we conveyed security personnel there to ensure that no one goes contrary to the directives set by authorities.”
“We don’t want to wait for there to be another disaster that claims precious lives because we did not make sure everything is okay. We plead with the traders to have patience because we’re doing this to protect them,” he said on Accra-based Neat FM.
About forty-two shops were affected by the fire which started from a shop that deals in combustibles at the market
Over 800 shop owners at Kejetia Market protest against closure of their shops
Scores of traders on Tuesday, March 28, 2023, gathered at the market, removed barricades used to cordon the area in protest against the city authorities, and threatened to forcibly open their shops.
At least eight hundred of the 8,000 shops in the market have been closed as part of the investigation and authorities say the market will remain closed until the investigations are over.
 boss, Samuel Pyne has given reasons why the Kejetia market was closed down after the fire outbreak.){kind=link}