The ammonium nitrate discovered
The District Chief Executive (DCE) for Shama, Ebenezer Dadzie has cautioned residents in the various communities in the district to play their civic roles by reporting suspicious activities of operators of quarry companies.
The DCE gave the caution when the Shama District Security Council (DISEC), together with the Minerals Commission discovered quantities of Ammonium substances and some explosives around the Anto Aboso quarry sites.
According to the DCE, his outfit had information that some ammonium nitrate was being hidden in the bush around the Anto Aboso area.
“So together with personnel of the Ghana Police Service, the Fire Service and representatives of the Minerals Commission, we went to the area in question and found the substances”, he noted.
“We did not know whether the substances belonged to the quarry company where the recent explosion occurred or someone went to hid them there after hearing about the recent incident. But we are investigating”, he pointed out.
Mr. Dadzie revealed that where the substances were discovered play host to about six quarry sites.
He indicated that the constant expression of fear of residents in the communities had become a matter of concern to the Assembly.
“Hence the need for the exercise to rid the community of such substances to avert such human errors, leading to accidents and preventable deaths”, he added.
The Assistant Manager at the Minerals Commission, Francis Annobil Jnr, said the ammonium and other explosive substances should not be kept by quarry companies but at a designated area called Magazine.
“Such harmful substances could only be kept by companies with permit to do so and around residential areas”, he stressed.
From Emmanuel Opoku, Takoradi