Herbert Mensah condoles with June 3rd victims

In a statement issued in Accra Mr Herbert Mensah, President of the Ghana Rugby Football Union (GRFU) ?,? expressed his condolences to the families and friends of the June 3rd 2015 flood victims.

According to Mensah it was yet another tragedy that should not have claimed the lives of more than 200 victims on that tragic day.

“Many have described the disaster as force majeure or an act of God, but if one carefully looks at all the circumstances surrounding the disaster of 3 June 2015, many questions can be asked about what should have been done from a governance perspective to minimise potential fatalities,” Mensah said.

The disaster of that fatal day is described as follows by Wikipedia, “The 2015 Accra floods resulted from heavy continuous rainfall in Accra, the largest city in Ghana. The rain started on 1 June 2015.

Other causes of this flood is as a result of the improper planning of settlement in Accra, choked gutters which block the drainage system and a few other human factors. The floods have resulted in heavy traffic on the roads in the city and also a halt in commercial activities as markets were flooded and workers trapped.

At least 25 people have died from the flooding directly, while a petrol station explosion caused by the flooding killed at least 200 more people.”

Mensah also said, “The biggest cause of the disaster was the explosion of the petrol station and the question of whether the station was complying with regulations, and in fact if the government had ensured that there was indeed compliance through inspections should be asked.”

Herbert Mensah is well known for his annual remembrance of the 9 May 2001 Accra Sports Stadium Disaster that claimed the lives of 126 innocent sports fans. At the time of that disaster Mensah was the Chairman of one of the football clubs, Kumasi Asante Kotoko, involved in the match played during the disaster.

“The annual ‘May 9th Remembered’ events was initiated by a group of concerned people, and it is supported regularly by some caring organisations such as Interplast, the Gino Brands, Melcom, Sunda International, Golden Tulip and others. That remembrance is in fact symbolic of remembering all such disasters in Ghana,” Mensah said.

Mensah has appealed to the government that May 9th should be declared a national day of observance in memory of all the victims of all disasters in Ghana.

“Such a day of observance will not only ensure that we remember the fallen victims of disasters such as May 9th and June 3rd, but that all in Ghana can reflect on the critical issue of responsible behaviour and governance.

Irresponsibilities such as those exhibited by our authorities on both occasions cost lives, and even the death of one person due to that is totally unacceptable,” Mensah said.

Mr Herbert Mensah has appealed to the government that May 9th should be declared a national day of observance in memory of all the victims of all disasters in Ghana.