Accra, Jan. 24, GNA-Government through the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources has established an ‘Appiatse Endowment Fund’ to solicit support from individuals, corporate bodies, philanthropists, and all well-meaning Ghanaians towards rebuilding and resettling the residents of Appiatse.
The Fund, would be launched on Tuesday, January 25, 2022, to be managed by an independent body with supervision from the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources.
This was announced by Mr George Mireku Duker, a Deputy Minister of the Ministry in charge of Mines in an interview with the media after a crunch meeting with the leadership of Maxam Ghana Limited, Chirano Gold Mines, and Ghana Chamber of Mines at the Ministry in Accra on Monday.
“Government alone cannot build Appiatse and so we need the support of individuals, corporate organisations, and every Ghanaian to come and support the people of Appiatse to have a place to lay their heads and for the future children,” Mr Mireku Duker said.
The meeting, he said, was to enable the Ministry to receive first-hand information from Maxam Ghana Limited, whose vehicle was transporting explosives from its magazine site at Iduamprim to Chirano Gold Mines.
It was also to help the Ministry’s investigative committee gather sufficient information on the Appiatse explosion to chart the way forward.
The Deputy Minister said the Ministry was providing leadership and creating the enabling environment for a quick return to normalcy at Appiatse and required the support of all.
On Thursday, January 20, 2022, a truck conveying explosives had a fatal accident along Bogoso-Bawdie road resulting in a huge explosion at Appiatse, killing 14 people, injuring 179, and displacing over 300 residents in the area.
The truck was said to belong to Maxam Ghana Limited.
Vice President Bawumia led a government delegation to Appiatse last Friday to commiserate with bereaved families and the injured persons and on behalf of government provided GH¢200, 000 for the upkeep of the affected persons.
The emergency response team dispatched to the place has distributed mattresses, cooking oil, and toiletries to the affected persons who are currently housed at the Bogoso Catholic Relief Centre.
Government pledged to work collaboratively with the State Housing Corporation to rebuild temporarily houses for the affected residents.
The Mineral Commission has shut down Maxam Ghana Limited and suspended its registration process with the Commission while investigations into the cause of the explosion is ongoing.
GNA