The directive was issued after a preliminary investigation report was made available to the minister by a team of factory inspectors from the ministry last Tuesday.
The minister was said to have met with the management of the company yesterday in a round table discussion where he expressed his disappointment in management’s failure to take the necessary safety measures for the workers.
He therefore warned that his outfit would be hard on companies, especially steel companies which failed to meet the standards of the factories inspectorate.
The minster did not listen to the arguments made by some members of management of the company that they had met the necessary requirements. Rather, he tasked the management to adhere to the directive of the report, indicating that the factory would be made aware of any necessary punitive action soon.
The minster was also said to have mentioned that his directive, which was the closure of the factory, was based on six important technical requirements which the company failed to meet.
They include failure to arrange for statutory examination of the environment of the company and failure to test gas cylinders used for the melting process.
The rest were lack of effective extracting system and furnace to remove fumes; no bins provided to contain scrap metals at the furnace to improve its housekeeping and management’s failure to meet the necessary safety measures, considering the company’s workforce of more than 500.
The Tema Metro Director of the Department of Factories Inspectorate, Stephen Lomotey, was reported to have expressed concern about the logistical challenges facing his department. He said it was one of the factors preventing his outfit from inspecting all factories in the Tema metropolis.
According to him, his outfit had only one vehicle to operate with, adding that his office could only boast of four members, aside the financial constraints it faced.
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