Government will find ways to alleviate plight of traders

Mr. Alan Kyeremanten, the Minister of Trade and Industry, has assured victims of the Makola Market fire that Government will find means to alleviate their plight.

“We have told them to take their time to salvage a few more of their goods … and itemize everything and bring their lists so that we can compile and bring it to the government for compensation,” he stated.

Mr. Kyerematen said this when he visited the fire scene to assess the situation.

He said it was unfortunate that another fire outbreak was experienced in the central business district at a time the traders were recovering from the ‘blows’ of COVID-19 but assured of the Government’s support.

Mr. Kyerematen said Government had set up a committee to look into the cause of the fire incidents for more permanent and practical solutions to address them.

He said Government was reviewing the report and working closely with the Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA) to develop a policy framework to deal with the issues.

Dr. Joseph Obeng, President of GUTA, described the recent fire incident as unfortunate and demanded the release of all investigative reports on previous fire incidents, particularly in the country’s commercial centers to enable authorities to guard against future occurrences.

He said, “we want the Government to submit the reports of forensic audits from previous fire outbreaks. That way, a committee can be set up to find a lasting solution to the issue.”

The Monday morning fire outbreak razed over 50 shops.