Market queens, traders, and patrons of the Adjei Kojo Market in the Ashaiman Municipality of the Greater Accra Region have sent a Save Our Soul (SOS) message to the government following a devastating fire that ravaged part of the market.
The fire, which occurred on Wednesday evening, destroyed sections containing maize, cassava, groundnuts, other cereals, 25 corn mills, additional grinding machines, motors, and cold stores. The incident was reportedly caused by a persistently faulty transformer supplying electricity to the market.
It took the swift intervention of the Ghana National Fire Service to prevent what could have been a national disaster, as the entire market sits directly under high-tension cables that transmit power from Akosombo to Accra.
More than 500 bags of various cereals, mostly maize, were lost in the blaze. Thick smoke could be seen billowing from afar as victims wept uncontrollably, unable to get close to the burning area.
One of the affected traders, Madam Borkai Okuteh, who operates a mill at the market, told The Ghanaian Times that they blame the disaster on the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG).
She said several appeals to ECG to fix or replace the transformer, which frequently gets overloaded, had been ignored.
“We have approached the Ashaiman Municipal Assembly on several occasions about this problem but no action was taken,” she lamented.
She added that although the Municipal Chief Executive, Mr Freeman Tsekpo, and the Member of Parliament, Mr Henry Ernest Norgbey, had visited the scene, nothing had been heard from them since.
When contacted, Mr Norgbey confirmed the visit and stated that he was working with all stakeholders to ensure the transformer is replaced and relief items are provided to the victims.
FROM IAN MOTEY, ASHAIMAN
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