The new Kejetia market will be closed for the next three days, following a discussion between the market’s management and the leadership of the merchants using the facility.
The closure of the market will commence on Friday, March, 17.
Nonetheless, businesses were opened after 12 p.m. on Thursday so that all merchants within the facility could check the state of their stores.
Those who have been directly impacted by the fire, on the other hand, will be permitted to enter their stores for just three hours from Friday to Sunday, as those who deal in perishable goods will be given priority treatment to examine the condition of their merchandise.
There will be no trading activity during the period while the market is closed.
The Ashanti Regional Minister, Simon Osei-Mensah, has already requested that the Market be closed for three days to allow for a comprehensive investigation into Wednesday evening’s fire incident.
According to the Minister, around 50 stores have been impacted by Wednesday’s fire event, with nearly all things in them entirely destroyed.
Mr. Osei-Mensah also asked for the formation of a committee to investigate the conditions that contributed to the fire’s escalation.
Mr. Osei-Mensah wants the committee to investigate why the sprinklers did not activate automatically when the fire started and why the smoke detectors did not operate properly.
The fire erupted on the third level of the market at 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday, March 15, and spread to other areas.
The cause of the fire, which imprisoned numerous individuals and damaged objects worth thousands of Cedis, has not yet been determined.
Meanwhile, authorities from the Ghana National Fire Service are accusing the management of the New Kejetia Market of failing to implement adequate fire safety precautions to prevent an escalation.
Addressing to media at the fire site on Thursday morning, the Ashanti regional fire commander, ACFO1 Henry Giwah, said his organisation had written to management on multiple occasions to correct several fire safety problems that have yet to be addressed.
However, the facility’s Managing Director, Kofi Duffour, has aggressively resisted this, urging that all essential fire safety procedures be implemented.
He also stated that for the time being, they will let the fire department complete their investigation into the cause of the fire.
“Currently, we cannot speak to the cause of the fire, and it is only right to allow the fire service to finish their investigative work. They will give us a report that we would make available to you.”
