Some of the family members at the press conference
Family members of some persons, who lost their lives in the recent mining accident in the Gbane mining community in the Talensi District of the Upper East Region, have called on the Minerals Commission to make the investigation report public to enable interested groups and individuals to scrutinise it.
They made the call at a press conference in Bolgatanga which was addressed by their spokesperson – John Yaro Zumah.
On January 23, some small-scale miners who were working underground lost their lives in some mining pits following the inhalation of what has been described as poisonous gas. Others who managed to get out of their pits later died at the Upper East Regional Hospital in Bolgatanga.
There is an ongoing investigation which the bereaved families have expressed so much interest in and want the findings and recommendations made public to avoid a situation where people that may be found culpable may be shielded by interest groups and individuals in high positions, and also recommendations ignored.
According to the families, some accidents occurred in the past in the Gbane community and investigations were conducted, but the findings and recommendations were not made public and therefore suspect that that could be the reason why people continue to do the wrong things and the accidents continue to happen.
They called on all groups and individuals cashing in on the January 23 accident and deaths of the miners for their selfish gains and fomenting trouble between traditional rulers and natives to desist from that else the families would take action against them.
They called on the National Body of All Small-Scale Miners Association to come out with their objectives and visions, as well as guidelines, to help monitor deviant small-scale miners operating in the Gbane area.
They urged members of the committee that has been tasked to investigate what led to the recent accident and deaths to be professional in their work and shun people and groups that may want to influence them to sway their findings and recommendations.
Finally, the families want all pits in the disaster area closed for long to give room for thorough work to be done, and also assess the causes of all the accidents that have been happening in the area.
FROM: Ebo Bruce-Quansah, Bolgatanga