June 3 disaster victims remembered
A memorial service was held at the Calvary Baptist Church at Adabraka in Accra last Saturday for victims of the June 3, 2015 disaster that occurred at the Goil Filling Station, near the Kwame Nkrumah Interchange.
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The two-hour service was attended by tens of Ghanaians, including families of the deceased and survivors of the disaster.
Also present at the service were the Minister of Works and Housing, Mr Samuel Atta Akyea; his deputy, Ms Freda Prempeh; the Deputy Minister of the Greater Accra Region, Ms Elizabeth Kwatsoo Tetteh Sackey; the Chief Executive of the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA), Mr Mohammed Adjei Sowah; members of the clergy and traditional rulers.
After the service, Mr Atta Akyea and Mr Sowah led the team of dignitaries to the site of the disaster where wreaths were laid in memory of the departed.
A delegation of dignitaries afterwards visited some parts of the Kwame Nkrumah Interchange which have drainage problems.
At some of the places, workers of Dredge Masters, a subsidiary of Jospong Group of Companies, were busily clearing the drains of silt.
A day before the memorial service, the AMA, in partnership with Zoomlion Ghana Limited and other collaborators, held a vigil at the Ernest Bruce Memorial Methodist Church at Adabraka as part of the activities marking the memorial.
Zoomlion used the occasion to educate the congregation on ways to improve sanitation in their communities.
Later, a candle was lit at the site of the disaster in memory of the departed.
Government’s determination
In a speech read on his behalf by Mr Atta Akyea, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo said the government was determined to resolve the nagging problem of sanitation the country was facing, particularly with regard to the construction of efficient drainage systems in order not to have a repeat of the disaster of June 3, 2015.
He said apart from allocating funds for the clearing of silt from drains across the country, the World Bank had also agreed to assist Ghana to tackle the issue of poor sanitation once and for all.
He said the government would construct underground sewage systems to resolve the problem of flooding in all the 10 regions.
Zoomlion honoured
For his part, Mr Atta Akyea commended the management of Zoomlion Ghana Limited for its commitment to help improve sanitation across the country.
In particular, he lauded Dredge Masters for clearing drains in Accra of silt noting that in spite of the huge arrears owed the company, it was still providing services.
“But for the humane attitude of a company such as Dredge Masters, the situation would have been worse. It has not been paid but is still working because disasters have more serious implications compared to posting dividends and profits,” he said.
Concerning the surviving victims of the June 3 disaster, he said the government had not forgotten about them and would give them well-deserved compensation.
He called for a change in attitude, particularly with regard to the way the public disposed of their waste, and called for a stop to littering and throwing of garbage into drains.
AMA in readiness
Mr Sowah, for his part, said the assembly was ready to undertake more results-oriented programmes to address sanitation challenges in the city.
He said already intensive removal of silt from all major and minor drains was underway in the city and stressed that “the assembly will use all approaches necessary to deal with flooding in Accra”.
He, however, expressed concern over the attitude of some city dwellers who, keep dumping all manner of refuse into them “while drains are being cleared of silt, .
He warned that the AMA would deal drastically with offenders caught in such acts.