Napo promises support to fire victims; ropes in NADMO and ECG to assist
Dr Mathew Opoku Prempeh addressing the victims of the fire outbreak at French Line on Saturday during a tour
Energy Minister and Member of Parliament for Manhyia South, Dr Matthew Opoku-Prempeh has assured fire victims at “Frenchline”, a popular trading arena at the Kumasi Central Market government’s support to cushion them as they bounce back to business.
Addressing the victims and other traders at the burnt site last Saturday, Dr Napo noted that it was sad to see wares and items purchased by these traders swept away by the inferno that hit the area a week ago.
He therefore promised to assist their reconstruction efforts with 100 bags of cement as well as twenty packets of roofing sheets.
“I cannot look on as you struggle to reconstruct your structures and so i pledge 100 bags of cement and 20 packets of roofing sheets so that you can have some cushion as you bounce back to business”, the Minister stated. .
Other Assistance:
The Minister informed the traders that the Director General of the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) had been made aware of the situation and would soon visit to assess the situation and provide other forms of assistance to them.
Dr Napo also assured the traders that officials of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) would visit the site to ensure that they are put back on the national grid so that they could access power in the area.
He, however, cautioned them not to dabble in power theft as well as actions that could spark fires in the arena again.
“I would ensure that the service line your leaders talked about is inspected and put into good use for you but would also urge you to space up the market arena for easy acess and ventilation”, the Minister advised.
Market Leader:
Alhaji Ali Fuseini, one of the market leaders commended the Minister and MP for the visit and his thoughtfulness.
He noted that the support the Minister had promised would go a long way to assuage the misery of the victims.
Alhaji Fuseini also expressed happiness about the decision by the Minister to cause the ECG to inspect and put the service line into use.
“We are grateful to Dr Napo for the support and assurances and we pray that these assistance enable us to bounce back to business as we also plan to space up the market arena ourselves”, the market leader said.
Source: Ghana/otecfmghana.com/ Michael Ofosu-Afriyie, Kumasi
