BENITO OWUSU-Bio, the Deputy Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, and Chairman of the Apiate Reconstruction Team, on Friday led a delegation from the ministry and other state officials to commiserate with the chiefs and people of Apiate, as they buried seven out of the 13 victims who died from the explosion at Apiate, which occurred on Thursday, January 20, 2022.
Speaking on behalf of President Akufo-Addo and the Sector Minister, Samuel A. Jinapor, at the burial ceremony, Benito Owusu-Bio extended condolences from government and the ministry to the bereaved families.
“We are here on behalf of the President of the Republic, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, the Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia and my sector minister, who are on an equally important official duty in Dubai, to sympathise with you in this hard time. They send their heartfelt condolences to the chiefs, people and all the bereaved families. We know this is hard but do take heart.”
He bemoaned the sad and sudden situation saying, “This is sad and we hope and pray this doesn’t reoccur, but as we cry and mourn the dead, we also have to keep in mind that there are others alive who need to be sheltered as soon as possible, and we are committed to do this within the shortest possible time.”
Mr. Owusu-Bio, who attended the burial ceremony in the company of some members of the Reconstruction Committee and a representative from the Ministry of Roads and Highways, Mr. Samuel Akuaku, announced that within a period of 12 months the new Apiate community promised by government will be reconstructed into a green, sustainable and model community.
Mr. Owusu-Bio, on behalf of the ministry and its agencies, donated an amount of GH¢30,000 to support the burial and funeral rites. The seven victims laid in state during the burial ceremony were, Ekua Nyame (80), Isaac Benyin (45), Isaac Anane (35), Emmanuel Quainoo (29), Justice Kwesi Takwa (21), Michael Afriyie (19) and a fifteen-month-old baby, Ella Baidoo.
According to the disaster relief committee, four out of the other six victims of the total 13 were laid to rest last weekend, while the remaining two namely Emmanuel Awingura (24) and Eric Gyimah (24) will be given a private burial by their families in their respective birth homes in the coming days.
Representatives from the bereaved families were given the opportunity to read out tributes in turns, and pay their last respects to the deceased.
Chief of Apiate, Nana Atta Kwadwo Bremebi, expressed his profound gratitude to the President, the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, and all other stakeholders for all efforts towards the rebuilding of Apiate, and for sympathising with them.
He also urged his people to support the project and remain patient as government zooms into the third phase of the project.
The mass burial ceremony, which took place at the explosion site in Apiate, a suburb of Bogoso in the Western Region, also had in attendance the Board Chairperson of the Minerals Commission, Barbara Oteng-Gyasi, MCE for Prestea Huni-Valley Municipal Assembly, Dr. Isaac Dasmani, MP for Prestea Huni-Valley Constituency, Robert Wisdom Cudjoe and other mourners from home and abroad.
BY Emmanuel Opoku, Apiate