The One Ghana Movement has criticized the government for the lack of action on those indicted for the June 3, 2015 flood an fire disaster in Accra.
In a statement, the group expressed disappointment at the fact that no one has been prosecuted four years after the tragedy.
The NGO said: “It is disheartening and disappointing that to date, no public or corporate officials have been held accountable for failure to discharge their duty of care to the people of Ghana and especially the victims.”
[contextly_sidebar id=”JVQAi0ybE3w8rB0xbrQM3evRG62p2NA1″]The movement bemoaned the fact that the response to queries have been “official speeches laced with empty platitudes followed by loud silence.”
The disaster, which happened at a fuel station on the evening of June 3, 2015, during a downpour, left 154 people dead and hundreds of others with severe burns.
The group, once again, called on relevant officials to be held “personally liable for the losses their irresponsibility has caused.”
Goil’s culpability
The One Ghana Movement also highlighted the culpability of the GOIL fuel station at Kwame Nkrumah Circle.
The station was indicted for poor safety practices by the ministerial committee that investigated the incident.
Noting some of the safety lapses, the NGO said “the failing by the managers of the GOIL filling station to ensure that the hatch of the underground tank was properly closed, allowed the flood waters to displace the fuel to the surface; leading to the eventual fire disaster.”
The investigative report noted that the station, and by extension the managers of GOIL, had been previously warned about their poor safety practices. It is clear that GOIL, by failing in its responsibility of duty of care to the public, contributed to the loss of lives.
Acknowledging the findings of the official ministerial committee, which are yet to be fully implemented, the NGO referenced the blockages of the main Accra storm drains and squatters settlements as the causes of the flooding but stated the government could have taken prior action to prevent the disaster.
“It should have been obvious to the relevant public institutions and officials, that the inevitable consequence of allowing human settlements on storm drains, is that the drains will become even more silted and unable to help prevent flooding.” said the group.
The NGO is currently involved in a court case as part of its Justice 4 June 3 (J4J3) Campaign that aims to help obtain adequate compensation for victims and hold the government and public corporations accountable.
