KOKONTE POWDER USED AS FIRE EXTINGUISHERS? (PAGE 20)

THE Eastern Regional office of the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) has expressed concern over the increasing use of fire extinguishers filled with cassava powder (konkonte) by some commercial drivers in the region.
According to the GNFS, the use of the konkonte powder, which is to deceive policemen on patrol, could not extinguish fire on vehicles.
Such a practice, it said, had arisen due to the inability of the personnel of the Motor Traffic and Transport Unit (MTTU) to use the appropriate device to thoroughly inspect the contents of fire extinguishers on vehicles, especially those plying the highways.
The Deputy Eastern Regional Commander of the GNFS, Assistant Chief Fire Officer (ACFO) Mr Paul Opoku, made this known at the launch of road safety campaign at Nkawkaw recently.
He stated that his outfit seized a total of nine fire extinguishers filled with cassava powder from vehicles that were involved in accidents in 2008.
Mr Opoku, therefore, warned that any driver who would be caught with a fake extinguisher would be prosecuted.
ACFO Opoku also warned that his outfit would not shield drivers whose vehicles used the konkonte powder as fire extinguisher and would apprehend them for prosecution when approached for assistance for insurance claims when such vehicles are involved in accidents. 
He stated that many of the fire outbreaks on vehicles could have been prevented if the drivers had genuine fire extinguishers with them.
Mr Opoku said in order to make the gadgets more accessible to motorists to ensure the safety of life and property on the roads, his outfit had provided the Koforidua office of the Driver, Vehicle License Authority (DVLA) with fire extinguishers to be sold to drivers at subsidised prices but some of the drivers had declined to buy them.