Officials in Ghana’s have ruled out lack of maintenance culture as the cause of the roof collapse in one of the country’s biggest shopping malls.
Sections of the roof at the Accra mall in the capital collapsed Thursday whilst scores were shopping.
At least three people sustained minor injuries, officials of the relief agency said.
Shoppers are said to be in a state of shock over the incident which raises questions about the safety measures at the facility.
Ghana‘s President Akufo-Addo said he was “disturbed” about the incident, decrying in a tweet the poor maintenance culture in the country, urging facility managers to “improve our maintenance culture.”
However, the country’s disaster management body said the incident was not due to lack of maintenance culture.
“I won’t say it has to do with maintenance. You know, anything that is actually constructed by human beings will definitely face some of these challenges.
This facility has been in use for more than ten years or let me say about ten years now,” the disaster management body’s director of man-made disaster and fires Mohammed Abubakar Tchafaram told Accra-based Starr FM.
“Periodically, they have been maintaining it. But if you look at the section that caved in, it is just a small section of the ceiling.
“So I wouldn’t say that they have not been maintaining. From time to time they have been maintaining it but definitely…as you know something that has been done by human beings, we will once in a while see some of these challenges or problems,” he added
The Accra Mall located in the capital is hugely patronized by Ghanaians. It serves as a relaxation place for many aside shopping.
Source: Africafeeds.com
