Job 600 building closed down

The Job 600 building which houses 275 Members of Parliament (MPs) was closed down yesterday following the fire that gutted an office on the 10th floor of the building last Tuesday night.

Officers of the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) cordoned the building as they began investigations to establish the cause of the fire.

As a result of the closure, MPs and workers of the Parliamentary Service could not access their offices.

Before the start of sitting yesterday, many MPs were seen standing at the precincts of Parliament House.

The legislators, therefore, could not pick their documents to prepare for sitting in the House and other engagements.

The staff of the Parliamentary Service also occupied the lobby of Parliament House and any available space.

A capacity-building conference of the Forum of Former MPs, which was supposed to be held at the Job 600, had to be shifted to a different building housing other staff of the Parliamentary Service.

Majority Leader

The Majority Leader, Mr Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, told journalists that he had been informed the building had been closed down to enable the GNFS to conduct investigations into the incident.

He said the closure of the building had denied MPs the opportunity to pick their documents.

For instance, Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu said, 30 copies of the Special Prosecutor Bill, 2017 were made available to his office last Tuesday.

However, he said, because of the fire, he could not access his office to pick the copies.

He added that the information he had gathered was that the fire was caused by a faulty microwave.

He said the investigation of the GNFS would give the exact cause of the fire.

Meanwhile, the Minister of Works and Housing, Mr Samuel Atta Akyea, led a delegation of directors from the ministry to inspect the extent of damage caused to the building and also to commiserate with Parliament.

The Speaker of Parliament, Professor Aaron Michael Oquaye, expressed gratitude to the minister and his delegation for the visit and informed them that the impact of the fire was very minimal.

He, however, told the delegation that a technical team from the GNFS had advised that nobody enter the building until it certified that it was safe to do so.

As a result, Mr Akyea and his delegation thought it wise to heed the experts’ advice by postponing the intended inspection until clearance was given by the experts.

Prof. Oquaye told the delegation that he had been informed earlier that the GNFS had a bit of difficulty controlling the fire because the fire personnel did not have the equipment to fight fire on high-rise buildings.

He,however, commended the personnel for doing a good job in controlling the fire despite the challenges, adding that their timely intervention helped to contain the fire.

Prof. Oquaye said the few MPs and officers of the Parliamentary Service who were on the floor at the time of the fire around 6:30 p.m. escaped unhurt.

Sector minister’s remarks

For his part, Mr Akyea said as the ministry with oversight responsibility over the structure, it was prudent for it to find out the cause and extent of the damage to the building

He told journalists that the ministry did not have first-hand information on the situation because the technical team investigating the fire was only answerable to the Speaker.

Mr Akyea, however, said the ministry was ready to offer any support that would be required by Parliament to repair the damage.