The Minerals Commission yesterday presented a cheque for GH¢2 million to the Appiatse Support Fund towards the reconstruction and restoration of livelihoods in the community.
It would be recalled that on January 20, 2022, a truck carrying explosives had an accident along the Bogoso-Bawdie road, resulting in a huge explosion at Appiatse, killing 14 people, injuring 179, and displacing more than 300 residents.
Consequently, government announced that it will put in place measures to rebuild the town and support the affected residents and this resulted in the setting up of the Appiatse Support Fund.
Presenting the dummy cheque to the fund at a brief ceremony in Accra, the Board Chair of the Minerals Commission, Mrs Barbara Oteng Gyasi, said the Appiatse tragedy was a national loss and it behoves all corporate entities and individuals to support the reconstruction of the community.
She was hopeful that this support will help to resource the fund for the reconstruction of the community.
The Minerals Commission, she said, will make sure it enforces the highest standards of health and safety requirements as spelt out in the Minerals and Mining Explosive Regulation 2012, (LI 2177) and other mining safety legislations relating to the extractive sector.
Mrs Oteng Gyasi gave the assurance that the Commission will peruse the report submitted by the three-member ministerial investigative committee and sanction anyone found culpable of breaching the mining regulation.
She expressed her condolences to the bereaved families and asked for speedy recovery for the injured.
Reverend Dr Joyce Rosaline Aryee, the Chairperson of the Appiatse Support Fund, who received the cheque, commended the Commission for the gesture and reiterated the call on all well-meaning Ghanaians to support a worthy cause.
She urged the affected persons who are currently housed in temporary structures to be patient as measures were underway to restore their lost livelihoods.
