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Annual fire ritual of Dangomba line and others
Sometimes one begins to wonder whether there is any hope for the future of this country called Ghana.
Fire outbreaks at particular spots have become an annual ritual and so you ask yourself, can nothing be done to prevent the recurrence of these disasters?
There is an Akan proverb which says it is only a fool who will allow his delicate part to be stepped on twice, but it appears the people at the helm of affairs are not aware of this proverb.
Fire disasters occur and we hear of investigations being launched and that is the end of it. If lessons are learnt, it is to be expected that measures would have been put in place to prevent the recurrence of the very same incident a year later.
Places like Dagomba Line in Kumasi, Red Flats or so at Adenta, Kantamanto and a few other places are known fire disaster prone areas and we must put an end to this annual ritual.
The social cost of these fire disasters is enormous aside from the financial implications for the owners of property lost in the disaster. A TV interview I watched, showed a despondency written over the faces of victims of the fire disaster.
One of the victims interviewed, indicated that all his belongings are gone with the blaze and further indicated that the clothes he was wearing were the only attire he has left after the fire disaster. The trauma these victims go through is not child’s play.
The state has a responsibility towards such vulnerable people and everything must be done to find a permanent solution to this recurring disaster. We cannot throw our hands up in the air as if we lack capacity to resolve such issues as a nation. When lives are lost in addition to properties, the trauma level becomes unbearable and people can easily lose their mind.
Proactive preventive actions are required to nib these fire disasters in the bud. There are certain issues in the fire prevention architecture that must be dealt with.
Recently, the fire service was complaining of hydrant points being made inoperative by individuals who have built structures on them. This clearly limits the firefighting personnel’s ability to successfully fight fire outbreaks in certain localities.
Local assemblies must be proactive by enforcing compliance by demolishing structures built on fire hydrant points and punishing offenders. This will greatly aid in our firefighting efforts when they do occur.
The Fire Service must liase with the local assemblies to identify other fire hydrant points as the population increases and development expands so distances from hydrant points to fire outbreaks are within distance.
The disturbing incidence of attacks on fire personnel that are emerging is becoming worrying. Law enforcement agencies must assist the fire fighters in carrying out their legitimate duties safely, anytime they are called into action.
Education of the public regarding the duties of the fire fighters and the challenges they face in the execution of their duties must be encouraged, so people would see them as saviours and not villains who deliberately waste time to let properties get destroyed.
Implementation of recommendations of previous fire incident investigations, must be fully implemented so as to prevent recurrence. The issue of haphazard construction of structures without providing access for vehicles such that in the event of fire outbreak, fire tenders can get close to the source to quench it, must be of serious concern to the local assemblies.
NB: ‘CHANGE KOTOKA INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT TO KOFI BAAKO INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT’
By Robert Ekow Grimmond-Thompson
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THE typical itinerant salesman in Sikaman is a herbalist. He is normally a slim macho with the capacity to perambulate the expanse of area covering the triangle of Accra-Tema-Ashiaman. In short, he can walk a total of 60 miles a day, marketing a product that cures every disease, including poverty. 
The door-to-door herbal pharmacist advertises his product by word of mouth. He has nothing to do with the Food and Drugs Board (FDB). After all, his concoctions do not feature on FM stations.
Those herbalists who cannot walk to propagate the herbal gospel, liaise with drivers of mass transportation and their mates. They are, therefore, given the chance to sell their products on Benz buses that ply the routes.
Normally, the herbalist starts his sales message with a prayer and Bible study. He asks the passengers to bow down their heads in supplication to God the father, the son, the Holy Spirit.
When a herbalist asks the passengers to close their eyes and bow their heads, Moslems on board naturally feel offended. They feel that the herbalist has no right to assume that every passenger is a Christian. They think such an assumption is an affront to Islam.
So a Moslem on board will raise the hand for a point of order. He’ll remind the herbalist that it would be in his own interest to mind his language.
“Be careful the way you address people in a public place. Not every person here is a Christian,” he’d state assertively.
Of course, the herbalist will promptly ignore him, but would all the same “watch” his tongue. Who knows whether or not the Moslem brother is inspired by Quoranic zeal to defend the tenets of Islam to the hilt?
When he starts saying, “Wallahi!” and “Inshallah!” it could be the beginning of proclaiming Islam as supreme, a point which must be driven home with talibanic precision.
So the herbalist must tread carefully lest he steps on fire.
The herbalist could even add a measure of mirth to it all, by announcing that Christians on board today have very interesting company on the journey, but that should not detract from the business of the day.
The Moslem brother will weigh the words carefully and offer a wry smile.
He must be careful the occasion does not degenerate into the use of semantics and proverbial oration to deride his conviction that public utterances must be mindful of religious sensibilities. He has made his point very clear and expects that it is taken in good faith in the interest of a peaceful journey.
The herbalist will now open the New Testament and preach salvation, stating clearly that salvation can come only through Jesus Christ and NOBODY else.
The Moslem brother will now start twitching his moustache. The visible and almost revolutionary reflexes of his upper lip can be an indication that sentiments have begun superseding reason, and the outcome could well be tragic now shift uneasily in his seat.
The time has come for him to also express his right to the religion of his fore-bears. He’ll put his hand into his pocket and rise to his feet. The time has indeed come!
This article was first published on Saturday, September 9, 2006
When the cause of a particular problem like sickness, disease, sudden illness, a social issue etc. are not known, it stands to reason that resolving it becomes a huge challenge.
Citizens would understand the government when public announcements are made to the effect that government is trying to find a solution to the issue, even though it is taking a while for it to be resolved because citizens are rational beings.
On the other hand, if the solution to a particular issue is known to everybody but the government for whatever reason, is dragging its feet in resolving it, citizens become frustrated and begin to lose trust in their leaders.
One such issue is the heavy traffic along a section of the Kasoa – Odokor road. A short stretch of bad road between the traffic light at the Weija Government Hospital and the entrance to the entrance of the overhead that leads to the N1, is the cause of the problem but nothing is being done about it, day after day, week after week, month after month. Thus is clearly unacceptable.
Another issue that requires urgent attention is the lack of pavements along a lot of streets in parts of the various Municipal Assemblies. Exercise is a prerequisite for long life and healthy living and for those of us who it has become a way of life, this issue of people putting up structures right to the edge of the drains beside the roads, are making life difficult for us.
We are compelled to walk along the roads, putting our lives at serious risk. Pedestrians should never be compelled to compete with vehicles on our streets and roads. Roads and streets are made for vehicles and pavements are made for pedestrians. That is the norm. Any attempt to normalise a situation where pedestrians are mingling with vehicles is insanity.
It is the road regulations that makes it so and therefore district or municipal assemblies are to take responsibility and ensure that spaces for pavements are not encroached upon. Citizens have rights that must be protected by their leaders and making pavements available to pedestrians, is one of them.
When we hear of teachers having sex with students, it appears it is something recent. It is not a new phenomenon. It has been there since Adam. Perhaps this issue is getting much attention due to the proliferation of social media. It was an open secret in times past when Teachers were in relationships with female students and some married them immediately after completion of school.
Some teachers were also known to be having unholy interactions with female pupils but due to the times that these acts occurred, human rights issues and the awareness around it, allowed such unscrupulous teachers to get away with their crimes.
Now we are in a different era and so a Headmaster is now in hot waters. He is alleged to have raped about 19 female students and as usual, some officials tried to cover it up and are also in hot waters and their actions or inactions in the matter are under investigation.
Why the man has been allowed to roam freely without being arrested is simply mind boggling. It appears that the law applies differently, depending on who you are. This issue came to public attention sometime in August this year, yet the police had not arrested or invited this man for question regarding the rape allegation.
It has come out that he is a Constituency Secretary of the ruling party and the question in the public domain is that, is it because he is a political figure that is why he is still walking around without questioning? I believe in the rule of law so let us hold our breadth and let the proper thing be done.
The police must however be seen to be active in this matter. God bless.
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