The MP for Akan Muniru Abdul Aziz has sounded the alarm bell regarding the safety measures deployed at Ghana’s law making chamber.
According to him, the chamber as well as the Job 600 which serves as office complex for the country’s lawmakers are awaiting disaster to happen. Parliament, he said lacks adequate fire safety measures in case of any fire outbreak.
Speaking to Starr News’ Parliamentary correspondent Ibrahim Alhassan, Mr. Muniru tasked the appropriate authorities to step in to take MPs through fire drills and institute adequate measures to avert future calamity, especially in the 12-floor office complex given the fact that the Ghana National Fire Service has no hydraulics to enable them fight blazes in high rise buildings.
Parliament in its current state is not ready for any fire outbreak, he bemoaned.
He said: “In my own estimation what I can say is that parliament is not ready (for any fire outbreak) because in case there is fire now in the chamber, the Speaker wouldn’t know where to pass, myself I wouldn’t know where to pass and I can assure you that there will be confusion.”
“Maybe we might even walk on each other and that can be very serious because the seating are in blocks so we should be shown that in case of fire this group pass left, take this exit and wait here for evacuation, you this other group on this left you also use this other route, get yourself comfortable here for evacuation but nothing of that sort is shown and I can assure you if there’s fire today in the chamber it is going to be serious…… in Job 600 today where I work, I work on the 11th floor I don’t know what to do in case of fire,” he added.
He continued: “I can assure you if there should be fire some people will be tempted to jump from the top floors to the ground…I call on the interior minister to quickly work with the leadership in parliament and get the Ghana National Fire Service to come and give us a fire drill on both Job 600 and then the chamber.”
