Kumasi (Greater Accra), 9 Feb. ’99 –
Mr Edward Osei-Kwaku, Member of Parliament for Asokwa West, yesterday visited the section of the Anloga Timber Market which was gutted by fire to ascertain the level of destruction and to console the victims. About 15 carpenters’ workshops, including machinery, equipment, raw materials, finished wood products and other items which run into about 350 million cedis were destroyed by the fire. Mr Solomon K. Adjorlolo, managing director of SIS Engineering Limited, manufactures of agricultural machinery, machine tools, food and wood processing machines, who had part of his workshop damaged by the fire, told the MP that the whole of the timber market needs re-wiring. Apart from re-wiring the place, he said, the workshops have been haphazardly cited and therefore makes it difficult for fires to be put out promptly when they occur. Mr Adjorlolo said the re-location of the carpenters at Dabang, is the best way out of the present situation and pointed out that the government will have to provide the site services so that the carpenters can pay back the money gradually since most of them cannot bear the cost of the services outright. He said his workshop escaped complete destruction because he walled it and that even then the little damage runs to about 120 million cedis. Mr Osei-Kwaku called on the government to secure funding for the re-location of the carpenters at the Dabang Wood Village, saying that presently a lot of money is generated at the Anloga Timber Market and as such the carpenters deserve a fair deal. He noted that Monday’s fire outbreak was not the first and that it had become almost a yearly affair adding that unless something concrete is done about the situation there will be continuous fire outbreaks there.
