MP calls for bye-law on space management

Page 14, June 4, 2009
Story: Emmanuel Adu-Gyamerah & Daniel Nkrumah
THE Member of Parliament (MP) for Subin, Mr Isaac Osei, has stated that the recent Kumasi Central Market fire disaster must kindle the interest of local authorities to enact appropriate bye-laws regarding space management, environment and sanitation processes.
He noted that enforcement of bye-laws had to be strengthened to prevent people from building or trading on waterways, public access routes, on hydrants and open spaces.
Mr Osei, in whose constituency the disaster occurred, made the suggestions in a statement on the disaster on the floor of Parliament yesterday.
He stated that much of the destruction during the incident occurred in the immediate vicinity of the railway line, when in fact at least 50 feet on either side of the tracks should have been left bare.
“If the eastern line should be rehabilitated today, people can actually touch trains from their shop fronts,” he said.
According to him, although the role of the Ghana Railway Corporation in leasing areas close to tracks in many parts of the country might be a revenue-generation strategy, it might in the long run prove to be unwise.
The MP stated that in Kumasi, like other parts of the country, railway tracks had become market sites and it was said that the revenue so generated was used mainly to finance recurrent expenses of the GRC and not for development or rehabilitation.
Mr Osei said about 400 stalls and shops were totally consumed by the fire and appealed to his colleague MPs to join him in sympathising with the victims of the incident.
He observed that far too often, Ghanaians drew politics into everything, and appealed to the MPs to have a national outlook in discussing the consequences and challenges of the Kumasi tragedy.
Mr Osei stated that the tragic event should be seen as an opportunity to completely redevelop the entire Kumasi Central Market.
He added that the redevelopment of the Kumasi Market should make the authorities think about what to do with cities and how to plan new settlements.
“We should not wait and allow shanty towns to mushroom when we can plan and take pre-emptive action,” he said.
The MP said when Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain visited Kumasi in the company of Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah in 1960, she called Kumasi “The Garden City of West Africa” because trees had lined avenues in most parts of the city.
He, therefore, suggested that the whole concept of the garden city and its principles ought to inform the country’s urban planning.
Mr Osei recalled a similar fate that was suffered by leather dealers, shoe-makers and pepper sellers in the same market on March 9, 2007, explaining that the committee set up established that none of the traders had insurance cover.
He called on the House to consider a legislation which would make it mandatory for those plying their trade in public facilities to subscribe to insurance against theft, fire, unnatural causes and goods in transit, among others.
Mr Osei commended the officials of the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly and the Ashanti Regional Minister for taking action in the immediate aftermath of the incident.
He also thanked the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, for not only visiting the site to sympathise with the affected people, but also his wise counsel on the need for all residents to respect and obey the laws of the country and the bye-laws of the metropolis.