Gov’t gives GH₵2m to 98 Makola Market fire victims
The government has given a cheque of GH₵2,029,000 to some 98 victims whose businesses were directly affected by a fire disaster that occurred on Monday, July 5, 2021, at the Makola Market in the Central Business District of Accra.
The inferno, which destroyed a three-storey market building with a basement, led to the loss of about 300 jobs, according to the Ghana Enterprises Agency (GEA).
The presentation of the cheque was done in the company of the president of Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA), Dr Joseph Obeng, the Mayor of Accra, Elizabeth Sackey; Director-General of NADMO, Nana Agyemang Prempeh, CEO of the GEA, Kosi Yankey-Ayeh, and others.
The beneficiaries are to be at the office of GEA from next week, where they will be guided to receive the funds from the Consolidated Bank of Ghana (CBG), after an account has been created for them, Mrs Yankey-Ayeh explained.
Speaking at a short event to present the money to the victims on Wednesday, 27 October, the minister of Ministry of Trade and Industry was hopeful that the money would provide a support system for the affected persons.
“In all, 98 victims were identified as having suffered levels of losses as a result of the unfortunate fire incident. The government has therefore released an amount of ¢2.29 million to be disbursed to these victims,” he said.
“This support we believe will go a long way to mitigate the adverse effects on your businesses as a result of the fire incident,” the trade minister added.
He then urged the beneficiaries to “apply the money to take care of very critical needs.”
He also pledged that the Ministry would work with all relevant Ministries, Departments and Agencies to design a new retail market system to streamline the operations of our traders in our markets.
The minister expressed the government’s appreciation to all stakeholder organisations who provided support services to the victims of the unfortunate fire incident here at Makola market.
They include the Ghana National Fire Service, the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO), the Ghana Police Service, and the Accra Metro Assembly (AMA).
He extended the same appreciation the former Chief Executive of the Accra Metropolitan Assembly, Nii Adjei Sowah, “for the leadership he exhibited during the crisis.”
He laid emphasis on the role of trade and commerce, noting that it was critical in the economic development of every country, serving as a channel between manufacturing and consumption.
“By acting as the channel between producers and consumers, trading has the potential to provide critical information as inputs into the production process, source of employment as well as serve as a platform for revenue mobilization in support of the government projects and programmes,” Mr Kyerematen said.
“It is against this background that among the components of the Ten-Point Plan for Industrial Transformation of Ghana is enhancing Domestic Retail Trade by improving market and other distribution infrastructure as well as reducing administrative bottlenecks in domestic trade,” he added.
He explained that under this component, the government has sought to provide direct support to business operators in the trade and commerce ecosystem through the introduction of a number of measures to facilitate trade in and out of the country.
He stated that by introducing a new Trade Facilitation and Customs Management System, UNIPASS, the government helped to address the challenges in trade facilitation and customs management, which were impeding the work of many traders.
“This new trade facilitation system has significantly improved the operations at our ports and borders,” he emphasised.
“In addition, the government took another strategic decision to support traders and micro enterprises through the provision of emergency liquidity support to the tune of GH₵600 million under the Coronavirus Alleviation Programme Business Support Scheme (CAPBuSS) when the whole world was struck by the COVID-19 Pandemic,” the minister said.
The Makola fire
A fire incident on July 5 destroyed a three-storey, affecting shops that deal in various kinds of wares such as beads, cosmetics, makeup products, wigs, fabrics at Makola on the Hong-Kong building.
Following an investigation, which showed that the building was weak, and its integrity compromised, a demolition exercise of the Hong-Kong building, which housed the traders was done.
The 48 Engineer Regiment of the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF), together with the AMA task force, and personnel from the Ghana National Fire Service, the Police and NADMO were at the scene to demolish the building about two months ago.
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