Editorial: Odumasi Dynamite Explosion: Police Must Dig Deeper Into The Incident

The Ashanti regional police command, according to the media reports, is pursuing the owner of the shop where the recent dynamite explosion occurred at Odumasi, near Konogo, in the Ashanti Region. The owner reportedly fled the town immediately the explosion occurred. The Ashanti Regional Minister, Dr Frank Amoakohene, has reportedly confirmed that the police are looking for the suspect to arrest him. This was when he visited the town to ascertain the cause of the explosion.

According to myjoyone.com account, the death toll from the explosion, which occurred on Wednesday last week, has risen to three, a woman and two men. One person lost his live on the day the incident happened, whilst the remaining two died later at the hospital from the injuries they sustained. Five others remain in hospital, with some in critical conditions.

The fire broke out in stores selling dynamites and other explosives used by local miners, triggering earth-shaking blasts that left in its wake damaged buildings and injuries, myjoyonline.com report added.

It is regrettable that three years after the Apeate explosion where a number of people lost their lives, Ghanaians have still not learnt any useful lessons when it comes to the handling of explosive materials. In fact, a special committee was set up to investigate the incident we have just referenced and the said committee came out with a number of recommendations to avoid future occurrence.

The three member committee that probed the disaster found that the explosion occurred due to the mishandling of mining explosives. It, therefore, recommended to the government to ensure strict adherence to mining regulations, especially those pertaining to explosives. In the latest Odumasi incident that we are discussing, the police say they are pursuing the owner of the shop to arrest him.

This, to us at The Chronicle, indicates that the owner of the destroyed shop was properly not having the license to trade in dynamites and explosive materials. And if the owner did not indeed have the license to sell dynamite, are the Minerals Commission officials in the town saying they did not see the illegality until the disaster occurred?

According to the Minerals and Mining (Explosives) Regulations, 2012 (LI 2177), a license is required for selling or dealing in explosives, and strict adherence to storage and usage regulations.

The LI also states that no person can sell or deal in explosives without obtaining a license from the Minerals Commission. The application for the license must be in writing, made by a qualified explosives manager, and include an acceptable operating plan.

A dealer in explosives must store their supply in a licensed magazine or other licensed place. The LI states further that explosives cannot be supplied to individuals without a permit or license issued by the Commissioner.

The Chronicle believes if the relevant authorities were enforcing the law as spelt out in the above quoted LI, properly the latest incident could have been avoided. Unfortunately, Ghanaians are always interested in reacting to issues instead of putting preventing measures in place. We nevertheless commend the police for pursuing the suspect with the sole aim of arresting him to face the law.

We do not, however, believe that only the run-away suspect that must be pursued. If the police investigations prove that the owner of the exploded shop does not have a licence to sell such explosive materials, the police must be interested in how he was getting the supply of the explosive materials. This will enable them (police) to get to the bottom of the matter and deal with the source of the illegal supply of the materials as well.

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