Parliament directs probe into market fire outbreaks
Parliament has directed its Committees on Defence and Interior, and Local Government, Chieftaincy, and Religious Affairs to investigate the recent surge in market fire outbreaks across the country and report their findings in the first week of the second meeting of the House.
Giving the directive during parliamentary proceedings yesterday, the Second Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Andrew Asiamah, stressed the urgency of addressing these recurring fires, to prevent further losses.
He urged the committees to examine both immediate causes and long-term preventive measures.
The directive followed a statement by the Member of Parliament (MP) for Subin, Lawyer Kofi Obiri Yeboah, who raised concerns over the devastating fire that engulfed the Adum Business District in Kumasi on March 21, 2025.
Mr Yeboah described the incident as a national tragedy, stating that the fire, allegedly triggered by power fluctuations, destroyed nearly 2,000 shops, causing losses worth millions of Ghana cedis.
He criticised the poor state of fire safety infrastructure, noting that the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) struggled to contain the blaze due to a lack of functional fire tenders at nearby stations, poor market accessibility, and inadequate fire-fighting equipment.
He called on Parliament to enact stricter safety laws and improve market planning in order to prevent such disasters.
“The Ghana National Fire Service must be retooled with advanced firefighting equipment, including drones and helicopters. More importantly, the government should introduce policies that make insurance mandatory for traders to cushion them against such disasters,” he stated.
Mr Yeboah also urged the government, the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO), and the international community to support affected traders in rebuilding their lives.
Reacting to the statement, MP for Akuapem North, Samuel Awuku, touched on the dangers of recurrent market fires, warning that similar incidents could happen if urgent measures were not taken.
“The devastating fire outbreak at Adum is a wake-up call. Let us correct structural issues in our markets. Incessant power outages can spark fires. We must act now to prevent future disasters, especially with the dry season approaching,” he said.
The MP for Kasena-Nankana, Billa Allamzy, also condemned the tendency to politicise fire outbreaks instead of addressing their root causes.
He stressed that market fires had affected people across political divides and should be treated as a national concern.
MP for Salaga South, Zuwera Mohammed Ibrahimah, cautioned against drawing conclusions about the cause of the fire before investigations were completed.
She lamented the continued suffering of market women, calling for urgent government intervention.
She also criticised past efforts at rehabilitating markets, noting that original shop owners were often displaced by political interference.
The MP for Kwadaso, Professor Kingsley Nyarko, called for financial support for affected traders, stressing that livelihoods had been wiped out overnight.
He further proposed a dedicated budgetary allocation to assist victims and prevent future market fires.
“We must prioritise funding for fire prevention and response. If indeed this fire was caused by erratic power supply, then urgent steps must be taken to address the country’s energy crisis,” he noted.
BY RAISSA SAMBOU
