AMA boss touring the site
Squatters and encroachers at the sprawling slum dotted along the Kwame Nkrumah Circle High Voltage Transmission Lines who were displaced by Sunday's fire outbreak at the area have been directed to halt any reconstruction of their damaged structures and stay off the site until investigations are concluded.
Chief Executive Officer of the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA), Elizabeth Kwastoe Tawiah Sackey, gave the directives on Monday morning when she visited the fire disaster site to commiserate with victims and assess the extent of the damage caused by the fire.
The inferno which swept through the Ghana Grid Company Limited (GRIDCo) Right-of-Way (RoW) location along the Odaw river resulted in the death of two people and the distraction of several wooden structures used as dwelling places and for commercial activities.
Ms. Sackey noted that it was an offence under the Transmission Line Protection Regulations, 1967 (LI 542) as amended by Regulation No. LI 1737 of 2004 for persons or institutions to conduct any form of activity concerning lands around the location of power transmission lines and towers in the city and cautioned squatters to desist from redeveloping lands bordering transmission lines in the city due to the associated safety risks it poses to the public.
"We can all testify to the fact that living here isn't safe...The Fire Service is investigating what brought about this fire outbreak and we are waiting for their response to enable us carry out the appropriate measures, but for now, we don't want anyone or any form of activities to take place here. If anyone is found flouting this directive, he or she will be dealt with in accordance with the law," she said.
Chief Executive of the Korle Klottey Municipal Assembly (KoKMA), Adjei Tawiah, who accompanied the AMA boss admonished all persons who had encroached on lands bordering transmission lines, to relocate.
He disclosed that the whole of Accra would have been plunged into darkness if the high tension cable had come down and reiterated the need for all human activities to be halted along the transmission lines or its safety could not be guaranteed.
Meanwhile, the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) in a statement issued on Sunday said, six fire engines were deployed to the incident scene which took firefighters three hours, 41 minutes to extinguish the fire after receiving a distress call at about 3:06 am.
The statement also stated that fighters managed to salvage Ghamot Assembly Plant as well as surrounding buildings.