June 3 disaster victims appeal for compensation

Some survivors of the June 3, 2015 flood and fire disaster in Accra have appealed to the government to fulfil its promise of compensating them.

According to them, money they had received from the government so far was support from the Benin government and organisations such as Citi FM.

They claimed that the government had neglected their welfare, adding that some of their fellow survivors were struggling to provide basic needs for their families.

They made the appeal at a memorial ceremony organised by the Flood and Fire Victims Association in Accra yesterday.

The ceremony was attended by members of the association, the Municipal Chief Executive for Korle Klottey, Mr Samuel Nii Adjei Tawiah, and some officials of the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO).

Concerns

The Chairman of the association, Mr Thomas Sekyi, while acknowledging the government’s support in the payment of survivors’ medical bills, said that was not enough, since they were struggling to make ends meet and to cater for their families.

A member, Mr Thomas Asiedu Akotia, also expressed disappointment in the management of GOIL Ghana, claiming that the survivors had not received much support from the company after the incident.

Disbursement

The NADMO Director in charge of Relief, who is also the Secretary of the June 3 Disaster Committee, Mr Mahamudu Emmanuel Andani, said his outfit had disbursed funds to all registered victims of the disaster.

He said the committee, after its formation in March 2019, disbursed $200,000 from the Benin government and GH¢25,000 from Citi FM to 105 registered survivors on June 22, 2019.

He, however, conceded that two persons were yet to be compensated.

The Deputy Director General in charge of Technical at NADMO, Mr Seji Saji, also confirmed the disbursement of the funds in an interview and said majority of the victims were doing well.

“So far, we can confidently say that every person who was registered during the disaster has received some funds. A number of them have come to our offices, and through that we got to know of their health conditions and we have further given them additional funds for surgery,” he added.

The Director of Communications at NADMO, Mr George Ayisi, said the organisation would discuss with the Microfinance and Small Loans Centre (MASLOC) to enable the victims to receive soft loans to improve their livelihood.

Legal action

In a related development, some victims of the June 3 disaster have dragged three organisations — the Ghana Oil Company (GOIL), the National Petroleum Authority (NPA) and the Accra Metropolitan Authority (AMA) — to court for their alleged complicity in the incident.

A source close to GOIL confirmed the legal suit and said it had thus shelved any plans to support the victims until the court decided.

Background

On June 3, 2015, a heavy rainfall turned into a devastating fire and flood catastrophe at the GOIL Filling Station at the Kwame Nkrumah Circle.

Referred to as a ‘twin disaster’, it claimed hundreds of lives and injured many.

The victims were seeking shelter at the filling station during the downpour.

Fuel leakage from an underground tank at the station mixed with the rainwater, leading to an explosion.