Some traders at the Adum Market have strongly criticised the current government over the dire situation at the market following a fire outbreak.
The fire started in the early hours of March 21 at the popular Blue Light Arena, near Hello FM, before rapidly spreading to adjacent shops, causing significant losses for many traders in the area.
It is believed that the fire was caused by an electrical fault, which spread further due to the congestion of shops. However, investigations are yet to confirm the exact cause of the blaze.
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Some traders, devastated by their losses, blamed the government for the alleged electrical faults that may have triggered the fire. One trader, in anger, accused the government of the ongoing ‘dumsor’, which he believes led to the fault that started the fire.
Every day, you are giving us dumsor. Why are you [the government] doing this to us? Why? You’ve been doing dumsor until the whole market has burnt down. I’ve been in this market for many years, and it is only today that it has burnt! What have Asante people done to deserve this?
Meanwhile, another distressed trader expressed deep disappointment over the Ghana Fire Service’s inability to effectively contain the fire, citing a lack of adequate equipment, such as helicopters.
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We are in Ghana here, and we don’t even have a helicopter to stop the fire. This government is just here to steal the people’s money.
In response to the fire outbreak, President Mahama has visited the devastated market to assess the extent of the damage. He pledged to support the victims of the fire and has also directed NADMO to assist the affected traders.