CDS touring the Base Ammunition Depot after the explosion
THE CHIEF of Defence Staff (CDS), Lieutenant General Obed Akwa has given a stern warning to residents who have encroached on military buffer zones to immediately relocate to safer places.
According to him, relocation of the armoury depot is not part of the issues the military is considering.
He gave the counsel after leading a delegation from the Military High Command, led by Defence Minister and anti-bomb experts to cordon off the area to avoid endangering lives and properties of residents in adjoining communities after the explosion at midnight of last Wednesday.
There was uneasy calm when the explosion shook the various communities around the Michel Camp.
Most residents were living in fear of their lives resulting in some of them passing the night outside their homes after the incident.
The Assembly Member for Michel Camp/Kakasunaka Number 1 Electoral Area, Anthony Nukpenu, in an interview with DAILY GUIDE, appealed to government to ensure relocation of the Base Ammunition Depot (BAD) for the safety of the citizenry.
He feared the incident could have been deadly if not for the timely intervention of the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS).
According to him, occupants of the two households that were affected by the explosion are yet to come to terms with the situation.
However, Colonel Eric Aggrey Quarshie, Director of Public Affairs at the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) who spoke to Joy FM, an Accra based radio station, noted that the military base was built in the 1960s when the area was not inhabited.
According to him, since the residents came to meet the military depot in the area, demand for its relocation is not the solution because there will be development wherever you send the armoury depot.
Asked what step should be taken to address the problem, he stressed that safety measures needed to be put in place.
He, however, raised concerns that most of the residents there, are encroachers, and authorities need to take steps to evict them.
From Vincent Kubi, Tema