Explosion At Quarry Site In Shama: 5 dead, many still missing | AM News
AM News with Benjamin Akakpo on JoyNews (11-9-23)
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Transcript
00:00 Thank you for staying with us. Let's get now into our first story for the news.
00:05 And officials of the National Disaster Management Organization are making frantic efforts to rescue some workers of G. Omanai Quarry,
00:13 who are still trapped under rubble after the explosion at the quarry site on Saturday.
00:19 Now, though the cause of the explosion is yet to be established, five people have been confirmed dead, with some five others injured.
00:26 District NADMO Director Michael Nyan, who is leading the rescue mission, says about three other communities have been affected by the explosion.
00:35 The latest issue on the ground is yet we haven't found the missing staff.
00:43 So we are also searching for them. But as I'm speaking to you now, we haven't seen anyone.
00:53 Have you been able to establish the cause of this explosion?
00:58 We haven't. At the moment we haven't. But we are now searching through the underground.
01:05 So by the course of the day, maybe the cause of the fire will be established.
01:11 But the staff were injured, four are missing, which we are not finding them. So at the moment, this is what is on the ground.
01:24 Now we know that some residents and communities have also been affected by this explosion.
01:29 You've been doing an assessment of the area. What's the impact?
01:33 Yes, some of the communities around the place have been affected. About four or five communities were affected by the explosion.
01:46 The residents are on crutches, spilling, and some of the compounds were also affected.
01:55 So we are collecting the data.
01:58 So we won't finish today.
02:00 Maybe tomorrow there's new...
02:02 Now, Member of Parliament for Sharma Samuel Erickson Abaka says they are still searching for the owners of the quarry site,
02:12 who are Chinese nationals, even as the police commences investigations into the cause of the explosion.
02:19 Four Chinese are missing, but we can't say for sure whether they are their grand or they have been buried by the public.
02:30 So the investigation is still ongoing.
02:33 We also have from the Buddhist Republic, three Chinese, three Thai, four Malays. Some have died. Others have also been severely affected.
02:48 Four are still receiving treatment.
02:52 So the Chinese, the four Chinese, I can't say for sure, but I saw the search and rescue team.
03:02 They are very close to us, but they are missing.
03:05 And at the time of the hour last night, it didn't turn to 11 o'clock.
03:10 One wonders whether they have any way to escape, looking at the rapidity of the explosion.
03:22 Meanwhile, the Western Regional Minister, Kwabena Ochoa-Inda Akwemensa, has told journalists that the company at the centre of the explosion,
03:31 Star Atoms Enterprise, formerly known as Omnai Quarry, is not fully licensed to operate, per his checks with the Minerals Commission.
03:40 The regional minister has, however, assured that owners of the quarry will be brought to book while pledging to intensify visits to both mining and quarry sites in the region to avert possible disasters.
03:52 He made the statement when he visited the scene of the explosion, which has so far claimed some lives with scores injured.
04:01 I believe that we need to be intensifying monitoring of all the sites that we have.
04:11 The other one was Lai Gote, but this one is a quarry.
04:15 With respect to that, they are all mining sites and we need to look at our safety.
04:22 My information is that the Minerals Commission has not gone through all the process with them.
04:27 So now that we are doing an investigation, we should be able to catch up with the owners of the mine and then go forward, investigate and see exactly what is happening already.
04:40 We are aware that four people have died and then another four are injured.
04:46 Two or three of them are in critical condition. One is better, but the other two are very critical and one has been discharged.
04:56 We have to send our heartfelt condolences to the family of all those who have lost their lives because of this incident.
05:03 But I strongly believe that we need to intensify our inspections on all the mining sites that we have.
05:13 This is an old mine and I believe that they should have been doing the right thing.
05:19 Fire service is here, the police is here and then they will be doing their investigations.
05:25 If you look at the way the bodies have been tattered because of the blast, you can actually feel the impact of the blast on the mine.
05:35 But I believe that we will be able to get to the bottom of the cause of the incident and put in the remedies that are needed.
05:46 My information from the Minerals Commission is that they have not been fully licensed.
05:53 So I believe that is part of the process. I don't know how they started mining without the full complements of their licenses.
06:02 But I also do believe that if they knew that they have started the process, they should have been monitoring them as we are going through the process.
06:14 Well, from the Western region, let's head now to the Ashanti region, where some cocoa farmers are convinced that the new producer price of cocoa
06:21 will discourage smuggling of the commodity to neighboring countries and exchange of arable farmlands for illegal mining.
06:29 President Nduku Fuada over the weekend announced a new upward adjustment for the cash crop from 800 Ghana cedis to 1308 Ghana cedis per bag.
06:39 The price increment is the highest witnessed across West Africa in the last 15 years.
06:44 Emmanuel Obrad Kweku has more in this report.
06:48 For many years, cocoa farming communities on Ghana's fringes are reportedly known to smuggle cocoa beans to neighboring countries, mainly Ivory Coast and Togo.
07:02 A perennial problem that has cost the country large quantities of cocoa beans for exports.
07:07 Ghana's recent economic meltdown, coupled with a craze to excavate gold by artisanal miners, have also contributed significantly to the loss of arable cocoa farmlands.
07:19 Reports suggest that in the 2022-2023 crop year alone, Ghana lost 1,150,000 metric tons of beans to smuggling and illegal mining.
07:33 Speaking at the opening of the 2023-2024 cocoa season, Food and Agriculture Minister Brian Echampon bemoaned the activities of smugglers.
07:44 There have been several reports of smuggling of cocoa from Ghana to our neighboring countries, and this has contributed adversely to the country's production capacity.
07:56 The sad part of this unfortunate situation is that the individuals who are engaged in this nefarious act of smuggling are neither the farmers nor cocoa ball,
08:08 who have contributed to the production of the cocoa, but rather private merchants who regrettably contribute absolutely nothing to the country's production capacity.
08:21 A primary reason for feeling the seemingly unending act was the huge cost differential between the countries.
08:28 In tackling the menace, the Ghanaian and Ivorian governments adopted and implemented the living income differential to cushion farmers against low international market price.
08:39 President Ekufado says the scheme has increased the average income of farmers.
08:44 One of the first decisions that I took as President of the Republic was to sign a strategic partnership agreement with the great President of the Republic of Cote d'Ivoire,
08:56 His Excellency Alassane Ouattara, which united the cocoa sectors of the two nations and helped us tackle common challenges in the industry.
09:07 This cooperation has already yielded good results for the industry as we've been able to adopt and implement the living income differential, LID.
09:20 The LID has increased the average farmers income by 700 USD per ton.
09:28 Under the theme "Securing Decent Incomes for Cocoa Farmers", the opening of the new crop season saw the government announce a historic 63.5% upward adjustment on the price of cocoa.
09:40 A bag of cocoa would now go for 1,308 CDs while a ton sells at 20,948 CDs.
09:51 For a number of farmers, the new price would improve their livelihoods as it discourages smuggling and exchange of farmlands for illegal mining.
10:00 The price was initially good in Cote d'Ivoire but I doubt any farmer would smuggle cocoa to their country given the new price adjustment.
10:11 From now onwards, the pruning, the hand pollination, all the agronomic practices, we are going to make sure that it is cleaned and done well so that the production will increase.
10:26 The government meanwhile says it remains committed to eliminating cocoa smuggling.
10:32 I only have one assurance to give to the nation. I will not disappoint Ghanaians in our quest to stop smuggling. Where I am from, we will see a free cocoa smuggling.
10:49 For JOY News, my name is Emmanuel Bradquikwu.
11:00 Let's keep our eyes trained on the agricultural sector because President Okofuwadu has urged traditional authorities to release land to facilitate large-scale commercial farming
11:11 under phase two of the government's Planting for Food and Jobs program.
11:16 He proposes a flexible payment arrangement between the custodians of land and farmers rather than the present order of upfront payment.
11:25 The president also wants chiefs to refrain from releasing agricultural designated land for real estate development.
11:31 Nanae Aljumwa was at the president's meeting with the National House of Chiefs in Kumasi and filed this report.
11:38 Majority of the 15.7 million hectares of agricultural lands in the country are owned by traditional authorities.
11:46 Under the PFJ-2, at least an agricultural zone of 300 hectares will be developed through public-private partnership.
11:55 The zones will have all the necessary infrastructure to ensure all-year-round farming.
12:00 President Okofuwadu is pleading with custodians of the land on flexible terms since upfront payment.
12:08 Olam food ingredients, as part of measures taken to improve health care in the country as well as reduce maternal mortality,
12:17 has refurbished the Mesidan Chips compound with equipment worth thousands of CDs.
12:23 The move, according to the president of Olam's women group Grow, Sylvia Araba Amasari, is part of the group's corporate social responsibility,
12:32 which aims at improving the health status of women and children in its operational areas.
12:37 And Ash Abed has the rest of the story.
12:40 Rural communities in Ghana continue to face health-related challenges, including limited health care facilities, poor road conditions, amongst others.
12:51 Here in Mesidan, a farming community in the Techiman North district of the Brunei region,
12:56 the community's health-based planning services compound has been without certain basic medical equipment to aid health care delivery,
13:04 and this includes the lack of delivery beds needed to support pregnant women in labour.
13:10 Dorothy Dasar is a staff midwife here at the Mesidan Chips compound.
13:15 Usually we used to have a lot of challenges.
13:19 When we have our labour ward, we are not having the standard bed, which used to make delivery difficult.
13:26 Sometimes in the process of doing the delivery, how to put the mother in the correct position is not picking up.
13:34 And then with, in terms of delivering equipment and things, most of the things we are having was outmoded.
13:45 Some, they are not sharp. You have to improvise in other ways to make things possible for us.
13:52 She says the situation is adversely affecting their work and pregnant women in the area choose to travel to Techiman during labour to ensure they don't deliver on the floor.
14:02 Those who are a bit exposed to other facility environment and things, because we are not having those available equipment,
14:14 they will prefer going to town because coming here to lie on the floor and they will not get a proper bed to even lie on to deliver.
14:22 We feel that it's better I go to the town to do that delivery.
14:26 The government as a means of dealing with this menace constructed this structure to serve as a labour ward for the community.
14:33 However, this structure, even though commissioned recently, has not been in use,
14:38 as it has been without medical equipment and Olam food ingredients as part of its corporate social responsibilities,
14:45 and backed on a project to refurbish this ward with the needed facilities to aid healthcare delivery.
14:52 Sylvia Araba Amma Asare is the group president for OFI Ghana.
14:57 Sidan is one of the communities where we do cashew. So we've done other projects elsewhere.
15:05 So this time we said that, "Oh, let's come to Mesidan and see how we can impact maternal health."
15:13 So when we came, we realized what could create more impact here is to have a refurbished delivery ward or a maternity ward,
15:23 and also a shed where mothers can come and listen to the message of breastfeeding.
15:30 And then an overhead tank that will help improve the health of the Mesidan community.
15:37 She noted that the move also aims at improving safe deliveries as well as reducing the community's maternal mortality rates.
15:44 You've got to know that some women are not having access to medical care or healthcare, especially during pregnancy,
15:53 and that has cost the lives of many mothers.
15:57 And so we are hoping that with this new facility, their care will be enhanced and issues of maternal mortality will reduce
16:07 and more women can come and go back home and deliver safely as well.
16:12 Queen Mother of Mesidan, Nanafa Adumako II, was full of praises to Olam Food Ingredients and urged them to do more for the community.
16:20 [Speaking in Olam]
16:39 Also present at the brief ceremony is the Chief of Mesidan, Nana Kwesi Tribimpon II,
16:45 the General Manager of OFI Ghana, Yusuf Amankwa, amongst others.
16:50 [Speaking in Olam]
16:57 Let's head now to the Upper West Region, where the principal of McCoy College of Education in the Naduli-Kalio District,
17:04 Reverend Father Peter Paul Yeletwo, has expressed worry over the myriad challenges that have bedeviled the college since its establishment almost 10 years ago.
17:14 Key among them is the lack of a fence wall around the college, which gives the opportunity to hoodlums and sexual predators to have a field day,
17:22 thereby putting the lives of the students at stake.
17:26 Well, JOY News' Upper West Regional correspondent, Rafik Salam, reports from Naduli.
17:32 Speaking at the first congregation of the McCoy College of Education,
17:37 the principal of the college, Reverend Father Peter Paul Yeletwo, commemorated the success of the church since its establishment almost 10 years ago,
17:47 graduating many students.
17:49 [Speaking in Olam]
18:18 And, my first classes.
18:21 The college was established by the Royal Catholic Diocese to augment government effort in providing quality education to the people of Ghana.
18:31 It operated for four years as a private institution before it was absorbed by the government as a public institution.
18:39 Despite the remarkable success of SOC, it is still bedeviled with myriad of challenges, according to Reverend Father Peter Paul Yeletwo.
18:48 We lack classroom and dormitory accommodation space.
18:53 It is so dear that we have to hire three different private properties for students' accommodation for the past five years.
19:04 It takes a lot of our internally generated funds to pay for these private properties.
19:12 We lack the needed computers and furniture to catch up with the fast-advancing technological world.
19:21 There is also the issue of lack of a fence wall around the college,
19:25 which gives opportunity for marauding armed robbers and sexual predators to have a full day,
19:31 who they want to draw the attention of the government to.
19:35 There is an urgent need for a fence wall around the college land.
19:43 This will provide security for human persons and college property.
19:49 We have had two attempted rape reports from outside and three robbery cases.
19:56 We were lucky to apprehend one of the perpetrators of the last robbery,
20:02 who took away a mobile phone from a student girl.
20:07 He has since been jailed for 15 years.
20:10 And at the moment, we are dealing with another robbery case.
20:16 The police are still investigating.
20:20 Our powers union minister, Dr. Hafiz Bin Sali, accepted to help fill some of the challenges
20:26 cherry-picking on the construction of the fence wall.
20:30 Dr. Bin Sali, however, was unhappy with the poor performance of candidates
20:35 in the basic education certificate examination, BCE, in the region,
20:40 urging the new trained teachers to come on board with positive energy to reverse the negative trend.
20:47 The Ndolikile District has experienced a downward trend in the BCE performance for a couple of years.
20:56 This is not a good development, and we cannot apportion all the blame to the peoples.
21:02 The district assembly, through the district education oversight committee,
21:07 has been working hard to address this problem.
21:11 The poor attitude of some teachers, such as athenteeism and drunkenness during working hours,
21:18 has also caught the attention of stakeholders.
21:22 Against this background, I urge the trained teachers to come on board with positive energy
21:30 to help reverse this negative trend.
21:33 And that is the note on which we cap off the news this morning.
21:38 Please stay with us, up next we bring you the news review.
21:42 [Music]