Margibi County Fire Chief Warns Kakata Residents

The Chief of the Margibi County Fire Service, Col. James Y. B. Freeman, has warned citizens to refrain from being reckless with fire activities. He stressed that it is dangerous to play around fire as in most instances; it leads to loss of lives.

Col. Freeman said whenever there is heavy outbreak of fire, especially gas fire; residents should exercise patience in allowing the fire service to fight the fire instead of rushing on the scene. The Margibi Fire Chief’s statement comes few days after a fire disaster that shock the entire Kakata City.

The incident occurred on October 25, 2013 in Kakata main street when a white gas tanker with license plate TB 2238 carrying 4,500 gallons of gas to Ganta from Monrovia caught fire adjacent the C.C. Club at Sugar Hill junction at about 8:30 p.m.

The driver of the truck and his two conductors, including a business woman sustained injuries besides the lost of thousands of dollars. A packed motorbike near the tanker was also gutted by the fire. The vehicle is said to be a private property of businessman Odesha Opa Kanu. 

In an interview with reporters, Col. Freeman said the cause of the fire was still pending, but preliminary investigation has established that the fire trapped the vehicle when the two conductors of the truck, Ansu Fofana and Sakeou Keita attempted stealing some gas.

He averred that one of the victims has been transferred from Margibi to the John F. Kennedy Medical Center in Monrovia while a lady is currently seeking medical attention at the City Clinic in Kakata.

He thanked the Firestone Fire Service and the National Fire Service for partnering with his men to fight the fire in Kakata recently. Col. Freeman however emphasized the lack of equipment for fire fighters in the county, noting that there are many qualified fire fighters but no equipment for them to adequately fight fire.

One of the victims, Abraham Kollie, told The NewDawn that his scratch cards and money totaling nearly US$1,000 got burnt in the fire. Abraham hoped that the vehicle is insured so that he may to get some or all of his money back.

The fire lasted approximately four hours with over 2,000 residents from all parts of Kakata converging on the scene. Some eyewitnesses claimed the truck belongs to TOTAL, but the chief security of TOTAL in Kakata has denied.

CRC Extends Consultation to Margibi County

The Constitution Review Committee (CRC) will be holding a two days stakeholders’ consultative workshop with Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) of Liberia in Kakata, Margibi County beginning Friday, 1 November to Saturday, 2 November 2013.

The CRC has been engaging the CSOs as critical stakeholders since its establishment in August 2012 and this workshop is the result of both parties pledge to work together to ensure the success of the constitution review process.

The purpose of the workhsop is to review, validate and select civic educators and civil society organizations and individuals qualified to deliver civic education on the process to the people of Liberia.

It can be recalled that in August 2013, the CRC advertised in the local dailies the recruitment of civic educators and county focal points to deliver civic education to the people on the constitutional review process. The submission exercise ended in September 2013.

The two days workhsop is to provide information to participants on survey conducted by United Nations Mission in Liberia, National Elections Commission, Governance Commission, National Civil Society Council of Liberia, and independent verification team on Civil Society Organizations and methods used.

The workshop is also intended to give overview of list of individuals and organizations that applied to serve as Civic Educators and to select Civic Society Os and individuals who meet the necessary requirements.

The workshop will bring together Civic Society Organizations and other participants who are non-applicants for the positions advertised by the Constitution Review Committee.

The workshop will include group working sessions and at the end, it is expected that listing of those who are qualified would be forwarded to the Constitution Review Committee for Accreditation. The CRC Sub-committee on CSOs is headed by Honorable Soko V. Sackor, a two times Deputy Minister, Liberia.