Bawumia visits fire scene at Adum - Otumfuo sends delegation

Former Vice-President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, yesterday empathised with traders at the Blue Light shopping area at Adum in Kumasi whose shops and wares were destroyed in last Friday’s fire incident.

Accompanied by bigwigs of the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the Ashanti Region, Dr Bawumia added to the list of high-profile personalities to have shared in the grief of the traders whose losses run into millions of cedis.

Among the delegation were the former Ashanti Regional Minister, Simon Osei-Mensah, and the Ashanti Regional Chairman of the NPP, Bernard Antwi Boasiako, a.k.a Chairman Wontumi.

Amidst the grief of lost livelihoods, the former Vice-President’s entourage was received by an enthusiastic crowd that walked the distance of his tour of the area with him.

After touring the affected shops in the enclave, Dr Bawumia met the market queen mothers and subsequently donated GH¢200,000 in cash to the affected traders and 1,000 bags of cement to support the reconstruction of shops.

Dr Bawumia appealed to the government to ensure the successful completion of the Central Market project to accommodate the hundreds of traders who had ended up hawking on the streets.

Hawking along the streets has been considered an activity that has continuously worsened the already congested central business district in Kumasi.

Asantehene's delegation

Later in the day, a different delegation of chiefs from the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, also visited the fire scene to observe the situation after the fire incident.

Led by Otumfuo's Akyeamehene, Baffour Kentenkrankyi, the team of chiefs went round the affected shops to acquaint themselves with the state of affairs.

The chiefs questioned the construction of a wall, which had turned out to impede the firefighting effort, although it was not part of the original design of the pedestrian footbridge at Adum.

A portion of the wall had to be broken down by a bulldozer to pave the way for fire tenders to access the market in the fire-fighting effort.

Mourning

When the Daily Graphic visited the site, traders were in black and red clothes, seemingly mourning their loss and counting the cost of the fire accident.

In the background, a brass band, commonly called Soroku in Kumasi, played a mix of songs as the affected traders wept or danced their sorrows away.

Some held messages on broad cards, some of which read: "Asantehene, please intervene", " President Mahama, come to our aid", "Traders are dying", and "All is gone".

Last Friday, when the trading enclave was engulfed by an inferno that lasted beyond 24 hours, the President, John Dramani Mahama, was among the first high-profile figures to visit the area.

President Mahama was accompanied by the Ashanti Regional Minister, Dr Frank Amoakohene.