The Ashanti Regional Minister, Simon Osei Mensah, has ordered the closure of Kumasi Kejetia Market for three working days following Wednesday’s fire incident.
The unfortunate incident recorded on March 16, saw most stores and stalls at the busy central market in the Ashanti regional capital consumed by the raging fire.
The fire, according to eyewitnesses, started from the third floor of the market around 4:30 pm before spreading to other parts.
But with the intervention of the Ghana National Fire Service, they managed to salvage the situation to save some properties worth millions of Ghana cedis from destruction.
Visiting the incident grounds to access the extent of the damage caused, Mr Osei-Mensah said closing down the facility will give enough time for authorities to conduct investigations and unravel the cause of the fire.
To that end, he called on the Management of the market to consider its decision of reopening the market and postpone it for a maximum of three days.
On the part of the GNFS, the Regional Fire Commander, ACFO Henry Giwah, said although the cause of the fire has not been established yet the service is still investigating the incident.
“As professionals, we are still investigating and we don’t have to speculate,” he added.
