Gov’t is not responsible for compensating Appiatse residents – Lands Ministry
The Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources has said it is not responsible for compensating the people of Appiatse who lost their abode in an explosion earlier this year.
This comes after former President John Mahama visited the town on Tuesday and appealed to the government to hasten efforts to compensate the displaced residents.
Mr. Mahama visited the community to donate food and non-food items and an undisclosed amount of money to the victims.
In response, the ministry has stated that since the incident, it has been their preoccupation to provide the victims with emergency relief and to construct the community to provide them with the dignity of life they deserve.
However, in a press release signed by the Deputy Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Benito Owusu-Bio, the ministry has absolved itself of the duty to compensate the victims.
It said it is still committed to raising funds to rebuild the community.
“Legally, however, it is not for government to compensate victims of the incident. The ministry is, nonetheless, committed, through the Appiate Support Fund, to raise enough funds to reconstruct the community and support the victims of the incident transparently and with the highest standards of integrity, ” he said.
Mr. Owusu-Bio added that the victims had been moved from the tents which initially housed them to temporal structures, and all medical bills of the injured are being borne by the government.
The ministry continued to ask the public to donate to the fund to help raise enough funds to quicken the reconstruction of Appiatse and support the victims.
Background
A preliminary investigation by the Ghana Police Service revealed that a DAF truck, with registration number WR 2252-18, was conveying explosive material from MAXAM Company, Tarkwa, to Chirano Gold Mines in the Western North Region.
A motorcycle rider from the opposite direction ran under the van when it got to a section of the road between Bogoso and Bawdie.
The motorcycle caught fire and ignited the van, which exploded into flames.
An ECG transformer in close range was also destroyed in the process
About 500 homes and 139 families were affected by the tragic incident.
After the explosion, the Appiatse Support Fund was established by the government to reconstruct and rehabilitate the Appiate community.
The Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Samuel Jinapor, inaugurated a five-member committee, chaired by a former Minister and Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Chamber of Mines, Rev. Dr. Joyce Aryee, to manage the fund, with the charge to raise sufficient funds, and supervise its disbursement in accordance with the highest standards of integrity and transparency for the benefit of the Appiatse community.
Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, the president of Ghana on January 27, 2022, made a personal donation of One Hundred Thousand Ghana Cedis (GHS100,000) to the Appiatse Support Fund.
Other well-meaning Ghanaians and institutions also contributed to the fund.
The Appiatse Support Fund has received over GH¢35 million in donations so far.