Vice President Bawumia decries spate of gas explosions
Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia on Sunday decried the growing spate of gas explosions in the country, hinting of government’s plans to speedily institute wide-ranging reforms to deal with disasters of all forms.
Speaking to the media after visiting the site of Saturday evening’s gas explosion at the Legon Atomic Junction, northeast of Accra, the Vice President said it was unacceptable that within three years, as many as eight disastrous gas explosions had occurred in the country.
Saturday evening’s explosion, the third of such occurrence in the country this year, lit the skyline in the eastern part of Accra, torching property and vehicles in and around the Mansco Gas Filling Point, adjacent a Total service station, sending motorists, pedestrians, hawkers, food vendors and residents fleeing for their lives.
In all, seven persons, as at midday Sunday, had been confirmed dead, with as many as 130 people suffering varying degrees of injuries. Some have been treated and discharged, whilst many others are still being held in hospitals across the capital for further medical attention.
“It’s a sad day for Ghana, yesterday’s event was very tragic…It is a major tragedy, at the end of the day, this is one too many; And I think what Ghanaians really want is a solid policy to deal with this matter once and for all,” Vice President Bawumia said.
“We are going to move to deal with it…we owe it to the country and the government is going to take this very seriously,” he said.
Emphatic that government was adept with its policy direction in that regard, Dr Bawumia stated that: “We wouldn’t pre-empt anything but some new policies would come in and those who would try to resist this new policies would not be listened to, because it is important for us to put the safety of our people above anything else.”
“And I think it is in the interest of the country that we implement some new policy directions. We are going to move quite quickly to do it…it is not going to be one that you wait weeks for it to happen…it’s going to happen relatively quickly,” the Vice President stated.
Dr Bawumia, who visited some hospitals that received the casualties including the Legon, 37 Military, Ridge and the Police hospitals, extended condolences to the bereaved families, and wished those who had been injured speedy recovery.
He commended highly the security services, the Ghana National Fire Service, the National Disaster Management Organisation and the health services for the timely intervention and devotion to duty that brought the situation quickly under control.
Dr Bawumia was accompanied by an entire government machinery comprising Defence Minister, Mr Dominic Nititwul, Interior Minister, Mr Ambrose Dery, Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Madam Gloria Akufo, Minister of State in charge of Education, Prof. Kwesi Yankah, Energy Minister Mr Boakye Agyarko, Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation Minister, Prof. Frimpong Boateng, as well as security service chiefs.
Deputy Ministers of Information, Mr Kojo Oppong Nkrumah and Perry Okudzeto, and some other high ranking government officials and the Inspector General of Police also took part in the visit.
Source: GNA