'Let's Set Up A National Public Safety Office'

 
For some time now Ghana has been suffering from fire outbreaks and such other disasters in our markets, neighborhoods, governments and other buildings. As a result of the disasters, the affected persons have suffered financially leading to social and psychological problems for them.

Because we have refused to think through to find reasons for the calamities befalling us, most people are divided on the reasons for the fires. While some people blame it on arsonists, others claim it was the city authorities who are setting the fires in order to take over the markets in Accra.

A serious study of the situation shows that all of these people may be wrong. Today just as the markets that caught fires in the past especially the past one month   alone in Accra, more than 200 other markets are in danger of catching fires shortly, because the markets have poor structures, with illegal electrical connections with live electricity wires hanging across stores.

Unless we are given concrete evidence to the contrary, the fires are caused in the night when the market women and men have closed and left to their homes far away from the markets.

The question to ask is, should there occur electric faults or naked fire set by someone at night would there be a person around to put off the fire or raise alarm?

As a result of the calamities, the nation has also been forced to donate tax payers' money to rehabilitate the damaged properties. The fire service which also is in charge of putting out fires also spends huge sums of money on their exercises. The disaster has been occurring because we either do not have maintenance plans or have not been paying attention to good preventive measures to deal with the problems leading to the disasters.

Apart from fires rainfalls have also caused havoc in our markets and some neighborhoods making them no go areas for customers and some traders. We have done all we could in reacting to disasters but it is not good enough.

A study of the conditions of our markets and other buildings shows that most of them are at risk of catching fire. Some of them are at risk during downpour of rains. The markets are not constructed to acceptable standards with most of them not properly connected to electricity and other utilities.

We therefore suggest strongly the setting up of the public safety office to take steps to audit the structures including more than 200 poorly  built markets  in all parts of the country with the view to putting right all that has gone wrong in accordance with building regulations in Ghana. We suggest that the body to be established should work with all organizations concerned such as the Ghana Fire Service, Insurance Companies' Banks, NADMO etc to take care of public safety.

After all the buildings concerned have been rehabilitated, a special corps must be established to man them throughout the day and night to ensure the proper use of electricity especially at night. The corps should be trained to detect the building of structures on waterways and prevent them from being built.

We suggest that Regular inspection of the buildings be held in order to discipline all those who break the rules to be set for them.

All the buildings concerned that follow the rules will be insured against genuine disasters. All such buildings that follow regulations would be compensated when affected by fire outbreaks while those who flout the rules laid down will be sanctioned with fines and will not be compensated when they get into trouble.

You would find attached a proposal on the PUBLIC SAFETY OFFICE

You may get in touch with us to elaborate on the issues raised in the proposal

Yours Sincerely
ALHAJI A ABDULAI
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR 
[email protected]