The Ashanti Regional Minister, Mr. Eric Opoku, has urged Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) to step up their efforts at preventing fire disasters.

They need to collaborate with the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) to embark on educational programmes to create awareness and discourage reckless handling of naked fire and electrical appliances.

He was speaking at a meeting of the Regional Coordinating Council (RCC) in Kumasi.

Mr. Opoku said they should ensure adequate security at the markets, especially during the night, to ward off saboteurs.

He described as disturbing, the number of devastating fire incidents that had hit the country this year, and said the region had borne the brunt of it.

“The loss of merchandize, cash and other valuables through fire could not be allowed to continue, this must be halted”, he said.

He used the occasion to remind the assemblies to ensure that the Disability Fund was disbursed to bring improvement to the lives of those with physical disability.

The fund, he said, was meant to support programmes and activities of the physically challenged, to better their situation, hence the need to handle it with a high degree of transparency and openness.