The fear is that the area could be a source of danger for customers as scaffolds have been erected without the necessary adequate safety precautions.
Some safety experts have raised concerns over scaffolds that have been erected inside part of the shopping area of the Shoprite supermarket at the Accra Mall.
The fear is that the area could be a source of danger for customers as the scaffolds have been erected without the necessary adequate safety precautions.
The groceries and electronic section of the supermarket where the scaffolds are mounted, have not been cordoned off or restricted to shoppers as is required by safety standards, though caution signs have been placed in the affected area, Accra-based 3FM reports.
Officials at the Department of Factories Inspectorate at the Ministry of Employment and Labour said they have contacted the management of Shoprite and that they expect them to cordon off the affected section of the supermarket by Tuesday.
“The scaffolds were there [Monday morning] which is not acceptable. It is not a good practice. At least if you’ve erected a scaffold, there should be a barricade.
“These scaffolds can come off and hit anyone. Normally, when you erect a scaffold, you barricade so no one gets access to that environment because someone will be working out there and a metal can fall from up down,” Director of the Department, Fred Mensah said on TV3 Monday.
“It’s really a hazard. We told them we will be back tomorrow [Tuesday] and by tomorrow, we hope that that place will be barricaded,” he assured.
Meanwhile, safety advocate, Nana Annoh-Emihere argued that the supermarket should have been closed immediately by the officials at the Department of Factories Inspectorate as soon as the situation there was brought to their attention.
“…anywhere else, the shop would have been closed immediately and then they will be ordered either to cordon off the scaffolding or to remove them before they open the shop to the public but nothing of that sort has been heard,” he said.
According to him, the scaffolding erected at the supermarket does not comply with safety standards, adding “What I saw there, if I were to go and do an inspection and certify these scaffolding, it will fail per every measure of the standard”, though he said there were no workmen on it at the time.
“Wherever you put scaffolding, you must barricade it, cordon it off and declare it as a work zone. If you go into a place where scaffolding is erected, you must wear helmet. It is a danger to the general public which shouldn’t be so,” he said.
Meanwhile, management of the shop have argued that they have gone through all safety measures and that customers are safe.
The fear is that the area could be a source of danger for customers as scaffolds have been erected without the necessary adequate safety precautions. Read Full Story
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