TEMA MARKET IS CONGESTED — TRADERS (PAGE 29)

Story: Rose Hayford Darko, Tema

TRADERS at the Tema Community One Market have described the market as congested, with no escape routes for people in times of fire outbreaks, thereby making it a ‘danger zone’.
They said entry gates and pavements had all been turned into sitting places while loose electrical cables hang over the market with water hydrants sealed off.
The Secretary of the Tema Community One Market Traders Union, Mr Robert Ocran, made the observations when officials from the National Commission on Civic Education (NCCE) and Fire Personnel met the traders to educate them on hazards and also to implore them to ensure the safety of the market.
Mr Ocran was of the view that the metropolitan assembly had neglected the market, allowing some people to sit anywhere to trade in the market.
He noted that other organisations which needed to collaborate with the Fire Service to ensure safety in the market had not played their roles well.
Mr Ocran who claimed to have been in the market for over 45 years, said electrical wiring had never been changed but rather people continued to do illegal connections and overload distribution points.
He urged the NCCE and the Fire Service to collaborate effectively and include the metropolitan assembly in the exercise to enable them to solve the problems in the market.
An executive member of the union, Madam Mary Frimpong, noted that there was indiscipline in the market while the assembly took interest only in the collection of tolls.
She alleged that some traders had sub-let their stores and stalls to other people while they perched on the pavements and main entrances of the market, making movement difficult for business.
Madam Mary expressed the appreciation of the traders and called on the NCCE and the Fire Service to intensify the educational programme and ensure that the metropolitan assembly performed its functions well.
The Tema Regional Fire Officer, Divisional Officer Kwabena Taa Korang, said domestic fires were high and continued to rise in the region according to the statistics of the first quarter of the year.
He said that in three months, the region had experienced 29 domestic fires followed by bushfires.
Mr Korang noted that industrial fires had reduced drastically to two in the first quarter while electrical and commercial fires were 9 each.
Station Officer Isaac Laryea Otoo advised the traders to educate their colleagues to adhere to safety measures to protect their wares and property.
He urged them to desist from throwing combustible discarded materials onto the roof of the market sheds because they could help ignite fire.
Mr Otoo advised food vendors who cooked in the markets to ensure that they put out all fires before they left in the evenings.
He also said some people used electrical gadgets like irons and water heaters which they leave on out of negligence or forgetfulness and which had led to fires.
Mr Otoo said people had blamed the fire service for performing poorly but they forget the fact that the fire trucks could not fight fire continually for more than one hour.
He explained, that the hydrant which was supposed to serve as water replenishing points had been sealed off.
Mr Otoo was not happy that the Water Company had not collaborated effectively because the Fire Service had been able to retrieve some hydrants but had not been reconditioned.
The NCCE official, Mr Enoch Adjei Mensah, urged the traders to report all incidents of possible dangers to the Fire Service for immediate attention.
He said a report on the market tour and interactions would be compiled and submitted to the metropolitan assembly for action.