Editor for the Ghanaian Publisher Newspaper, Yaw Obeng Manu has blamed the Western Regional Co-ordinating Council and mining services contractor, Maxam Company Limited for the avoidable disaster at Appiatse in the Bogoso District of the Western Region.
The explosion which claimed several lives and led to the destruction of properties according to a government statement indicates the accident involved a truck conveying explosive materials for a mining company, a motorcycle, and a third vehicle close to an electricity transformer, leading to the explosion.
The editor who is the elated government has set up a committee to investigate the matter indicated that the transportation of explosives needs to follow certain protocols which were obviously not adhered to. “I am happy the government has set up a committee to investigate the matter. In the transportation of such explosives, strict protocols must be followed but it looks like that was not done in this case. Accounts indicate the truck collided into a motorbike causing the explosion but I think Maxam and the Western Regional Co-Ordinating Council (WRCC) must be held accountable for this.”
For a truck carrying explosives, Yaw Obeng Manu believes there should have been a police motorbike escort paving way for them and warning them of any impending danger. “If they had this police escort there was no way the said motorcycle would’ve crossed the truck causing the explosion and claiming lives,” he told Samuel Eshun on the Happy Morning Show.
According to him, the rules were breached with regard to the transportation of the explosive materials “and those responsible must be punished for that.”
He expressed delight over the setting up of a committee by the Ministry of Land and Natural Resources to prevent a similar incident from ever occurring. “The investigation is not a witch-hunt but just the government making sure the responsible parties are punished.”
