Cedi House catches fire

During the early hours of yesterday a section of the Cedi House, which is situated near the British Council, was engulfed in fire.

The Cedi House is a hub for businesses, which are housed with different sectors, namely banks, companies and also the Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE).

At the time of investigations by the paper, people who could be found on the premises were private security personnel.

The security personnel disclosed that occupants of different business sectors had been evacuated, and there was not going to be any business activities in the building, until further notice. According to information on the ground, the cause of the fire was an electrical fault, which begun at dawn, resulting in a fire, which engulfed the fourth, fifth and the sixth floors of the building.

The GSE and the Ghana Commercial Bank are occupying the section of the building, which caught fire. Meanwhile, during a press conference, jointly organised by the Bank of Ghana (BoG) and the GSE, the Advisor to the Governor of BoG, Mr. Kofi Adu Larbi, observed that top officials of the bank and the GSE had visited the scene to assess the situation and came to the conclusion that the database for trading was intact.

Mr. Larbi also said that the Ghana Fire Service responded promptly to the call for assistance and that no injury was recorded.

The Managing Director of the GSE, Mr. Kofi Yamoah, was quick to add that the fire outbreak did not affect the security depositary, which was unveiled for automation.

Mr. Yamoah assured investors that the database for trading within the building was secure, and there was no need for panic.

According to him, the fire caused a delay in trading for the day.

But, officials of the GSE disclosed that they couldn't be sure if the fire would have an impact on shares being traded for the day.