Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia has revealed that the Kejetia Market fire was started by a gas cooker belonging to one of the traders.
According to him, reports from officers of the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) indicate that the inferno was caused by a shop owner who was cooking with a gas cylinder.
He added that it escalated due to the combustible materials that are sold around the area the fire started.
An inferno consumed parts of the Kejetia Market in the Ashanti Region on Wednesday, March 15, 2023, destroying over 30 shops out of the facility’s 8,000 shops.
This led the managers to close the area for some days to allow security officials to check the structural integrity of the affected building.
Addressing the traders when he visited the fire scene, Dr Bawumia said the fire was not ignited by an electrical fault as widely speculated.
“We are here to empathize with you following the fire that gutted the market. We are equally affected by the sad situation, that’s why I’m here today to show my concerns. I was taken around the market by the GNFS, and NADMO officials and they told me that through their investigations, they found out that the market caught fire as a result of cooking by one of the traders, whose shop was close to a nearby chemical shop,” he said.
The Vice President, however, assured the traders that the government will offer support to the affected persons
He also added that part of the facility that was not affected by the fire will be reopened for business on Tuesday despite the earlier directive by the board for the market to be closed for one more week.
“You are all worried that you are not working now because the market is closed. I have had some talks with GNFS so tomorrow, March 21, you will start working. I talked to President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo this morning before coming here. He told me to inform you that traders whose shops were affected will be supported,” Vice President assured.
This comes after the Combined Traders Association of Kumasi City Market vowed to resist any attempt by the Managers to close the facility for one more week.
The traders in a press release said they had sighted a letter from the board and management of the market which suggested the extension of the closure date for another seven days.
The leadership of the traders, together with transport operators, threatened to go to the facility and engage in their usual activities despite the board’s directive.