Today marks five years after the country experienced one of the biggest disasters, which resulted in the loss of many lives and property.
On June 3, 2015, heavy torrential rainfall, which started in the late hours of Tuesday, June 2, and continued into the next day leading to severe flooding in several parts of the country with Accra being the worst affected.
An explosion at a GOIL fuel station at the Kwame Nkrumah Circle saw the death of over 150 persons and left many injured.
Significant donations were made and money was promised the victims and the bereaved families.
Five years on
Five years on, OneGhana Movement, in a statement says “the victims are yet to receive any substantial disbursements of the said contributions.â€
According to the group, “the only funds received by the victims to date are from a US$200,000 donation by the President of Benin which the NADMO and AMA disbursed to them in June 2019. This begs the question; “Where are the funds that were donated to the victims, and why have they not been disbursed even five years after the disaster?â€
It is for this reason that the OneGhana Movement, after launching its “Justice 4 June 3 (J4J3)†Campaign in 2017, is still seeking justice for the victims and the bereaved.
“While the organisation acknowledges that the wheels of justice grind slowly, we do believe that the victims have endured significant trauma over the past five years and need to be adequately compensated to enable them afford a quality life and to restore faith in the justice system.â€
According to the statement, the victims and the OneGhana Movement have commenced a class action suit against Ghana Oil (GOIL), National Petroleum Authority (NPA) and the Accra Metropolitan Authority (AMA) for their complicity in the disaster.
It is their hope that while the court case continues, “the pursuit of justice will not only result in fair compensations to victims and their families and punishment to culpable officialsâ€, but “will drive the sense of accountability and responsibility on the part of citizens, corporate Ghana and public officialsâ€.