Appiatse Explosion: Mining Companies Must Pay At Least $100 Million Damage – Prof. Azar

Professor Stephen Kwaku Asare, popularly known as Kwaku Azar, a US-based Ghanaian Professor of Accounting and a private legal practitioner is calling for severe punitive sanctions against persons found liable to the Appiatse explosion.

The unfortunate incident, occurred on Thursday, January 21, 2022 after a truck carrying explosives to be delivered to a mining company got involved in an accident with a motorcycle and another vehicle at a place close to an electricity transformer.

The explosion has reduced the town of Appiatse to rubbles and debris, killing inhabitants and injuring several others.

This incident Professor Azar says is very tragic and upsetting taking into consideration the stringent laws in the country regulating the handling and transportation of such mining explosives.

This unfortunate incident, Professor Azar believes its a result of the negligence of the companies involved and the regulators who are responsible for enforcing LI 2177 promulgated to prevent these kinds of accidents.

In a Facebook post sighted by ABC News, the social commentator noted that he is, “very saddened by the tragic events of Bogoso. And equally upset that we have reduced our laws to mere suggestions. We have crafted LI 2177 to avoid the carnage we are witnessing at Bogoso. Amongst its many sensible and stringent regulations, it requires the vehicle compartments in which explosives are transported to be covered with sheet metal and lined with treated wood to render it non-inflammable.”

Professor Azar believes considering the severity of the accident, any damage below $100 million awarded against the companies involved will not be enough in reducing the impact of the accident on the victims.

In addition he indicated that the regulators involving in enforcing the laws governing the transportation and handling these mining explosives must also be severely punished for the carnage.

“The negligent transportation of explosives on the Bogoso highway, itself the product of absence of enforcement, is the proximate cause of the carnage. The mining company must be held accountable for the carnage! I see, at least, $100M of damages,” he wrote.

He added that, “but that’s not all. Who are those responsible for enforcing L1 2177? They must all be held accountable. For the avoidance of doubt, a press release taking responsibility is not accountability. People must be fired, prosecuted, demoted, etc. And I repeat, laws are not self-enforcing. We can write and rewrite them as often as we want but they are pretty useless if we are not going to enforce them or selectively do so.”

Source: ABCNewsGh