External Communication Manager of Newmont Ghana Azumah Agbeko has stated that the mining company will collaborate with Consar Construction Company Limited and families of the six persons, who lost their lives, to organize the one-week celebration and final funeral rites for the deceased.
The bereaved families expressed dissatisfaction with Consar Construction Company Limited and Newmont Ahafo Mines, a sub-contracting firm working on the Newmont Ahafo Expansion Project, for failing to talk about compensations.
“We are in touch with Consar and families of the deceased and are planning the one week and the final funeral rites for the victims at least for now. We will soon come out with a press statement on the way forward,” he told DAILY GUIDE on phone.
It would be recalled that family members of deceased complained to the media that nobody had touched on compensations.
They appealed to the government to impress upon the company to pay them adequate compensations in order to cater for their children.
In the house of one of the deceased at Gyedu, near Kenyasi, Patience Ntim, a widow told CitiFM that“we are expecting a livelihood package from Newmont Ghana Gold Limited and the government. I am appealing to Newmont and the government to assist us financially to take care of our children.”
Another widow said, ‘Newmont needs to improve safety at the mines to avert accidents in future. My late husband was the bread winner of our family. Now that he is gone, there is no one to take care of my child and me.”
Six workers of Consar Construction Company Limited, a construction firm, died on Saturday at the Newmont Ahafo Mines at Kenyasi No 2 when a reclaim tunnel roof collapsed.
Four others, who also sustained various degrees of injury, were treated and discharged at Newmont SOS Clinic.
The Land and Natural Resources Minister, John Peter Amewu, visited the accident scene to assess the situation and console the bereaved families.
Though investigations have not been concluded, Mr Amewu described the accident as a pure engineering lapse.
From Daniel Y Dayee, Sunyani