Traders must take insurance policy

17/11/07
Article: Salome Donkor
Maame Deede, Antie Adwoa and Kwadwo Osei, were among the hundreds of traders who wept uncontrollably following the destruction of their property during the fire outbreak at the Makola Annex Two Market in Accra last week.
A number of shops and stalls were completely razed by the fire which gutted part of the market in the early hours of last Friday. Items destroyed included used clothing, shoes and food.
Amidst wailing and sobbing, the traders stood helplessly as they watched the fire completely burn their goods and other property worth several billions of cedis, to ashes.
The market, popularly called the Tema Station “T.S. Market”, is located just behind the Intercity Transport Terminal at Tudu, adjacent to the Public Works Department (PWD) yard.
Coincidentally, fire broke out at the same area about five years ago, just about six weeks to Christmas.
The tragedy occurred barely 48 hours after fire devastated a warehouse at the Kasoa Market, in the Central Region.
Amidst appeals for government support to enable them to start new lives, some of the traders, have reorganised themselves and begun clearing the debris to reconstruct their shops.
It was reported that the Accra Metropolitan Authority (AMA) had held a marathon session behind closed-doors with leaders of the traders’ associations to strategise on the way forward, and sources close to the meeting indicated that the discussions centred on ways to prevent a recurrence of the fire incident.
It said following the congestion at the market, which impeded the movement of traders, the meeting considered the construction of proper walkways, access routes for fire tenders and the use of better materials to withstand fire in the rebuilding plan.
Calls have been made by insurance officers and related individuals and organisations to the traders to take insurance policies against fire outbreaks.
When contacted, the Special Assistant to the Accra Metropolitan Chief Executive, Mr Ali Baba Bature, added his voice to the calls and said the recent fire outbreaks at the Makola and new Kasoa markets, were a wake-up calls to traders operating in the markets to take steps to protect their property and also take fire prevention measures against such fire out breaks, which lead to the mass destruction of property.
He said, although the affected traders were expecting the AMA to assist them, the assembly was constrained financially ,and therefore could not do much to support them.
A sales representative of the Donewell Insurance Company, Mr Jonas Gyebi-Marfo, also stressed the need for the traders to take policy on fire.
Speaking in an interview, he said such a policy was not only against fire but other natural disasters such as floods, earthquake, and lightening.
He said the policy also covers people who live in airport residential areas and may by injured by an object from a moving aircraft, as well as those in industrial areas and people who may suffer from explosion.
Mr Gyebi-Marfo said the annual premium for such a policy is between 0.25 to 0.4 per cent of the value of the insured property or goods.
He regretted that numerous educational programmes to traders to take such a policy had not yielded the needed results since most of them were reluctant to undertake such a policy.
He pointed out that when such disasters occur, they go to the markets to educate the traders on the importance of insuring their wares, stalls and shops, but although they initially welcome such an idea and show interests, they continue to postpone their plans without taking any conclusive decision to do so.
He, however, said they would continue to educate them on the importance of insurance policies in order to help safeguard their property.
When reached for his comments on the recent fire outbreaks, the Tema Regional Training Officer of the Ghana National Fire Service, Assistant Division Officer (ADO) Mr Prince Anaglate, urged the AMA and other related bodies to implement suggestions made by the GNFS.
He said apart from ensuring accessibility at the markets, there was the need for security personnel stationed at the markets to be trained in fire detection and prevention techniques, since they are the first point of contact when such fires start in the night.
He also said since some of the traders use fire in cooking at the markets, it is important for security men who close the gates at the markets to go round to find out any source of fire hazard left behind by the traders and deal with them before closing the gates.
It is obvious that city authorities, the GNFS, people who maintain security at the markets and the traders themselves need to play their respective roles to enhance safety practices at the market to help prevent such disasters.