We Cannot Afford Anymore Gas Explosions - President

The President of the Republic, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, says the country cannot afford anymore gas explosions, following the incident that took place at the Atomic Junction on Saturday, October 7, 2017, when seven people lost their lives and several injuries were recorded, as a result of the gas explosion at Atomic Junction.

According to President Akufo-Addo, "It is time these incidents came to a stop in Ghana. We cannot continue with them."

It is for this reason that the President told the congregation that "I have asked the Vice President to go back to Accra to see with his own eyes, and that of the Minister for Interior, what has taken place. We are going to have to come out with a clear policy on how to prevent such incidents in the future."

President Akufo-Addo made this known on Sunday, 8th October, 2017, the 3rd day of his tour of the Northern Region, when he worshipped with congregants at the Tishigu Anglican Church, in Tamale.

Fortunately, President Akufo-Addo stated that "Cabinet will be meeting on Thursday, [12th October, 2017] and, I believe, out of that meeting, the country will know what our programme is, the comprehensive programme we intend to have to bring such incidents to a stop."

The President stressed that the gas explosion at Atomic Junction "is one too many. We cannot afford anymore."

He, thus, appealed to "everybody involved in the industry to recognise that we all have to make adjustments to be able to guarantee the safety and security of our people, so these things do not happen again.

"I need your support, and the co-operation of the people of Ghana to make sure that the policies that we will be bringing out succeed, so that such incidents become a thing of the past and not of our future."

President Akufo-Addo urged the Priests and congregation of the Tishigu Anglican Church "to pray for all those who were caught up in the tragedy in Accra yesterday - the dead and the injured people. We pray for their souls, and we pray for their families, that the Almighty will give them comfort and strength in these trying times."

I need your prayers

Again, to the congregation, President Akufo-Addo stated that "I needed your prayers to get there, and I need even more your prayers to stay there and do a good job for all of us."

He urged them to pray for him and his government so "that we will look up and look at the Almighty and give off our heart and energy, and give our country a good government that will help lift the people of Ghana up."

Touching on the partnership between faith-based schools and Government, President Akufo-Addo stressed that "nobody can forget the role faith based schools have played in the development of our educational structure, and, if ever there was a time when the partnership between the State and the faith-based should be strong, this is the time for that."

In fulfilment of the New Patriotic Party's 2016 Manifesto, President Akufo-Addo stated that "we will strengthen the relationship between Government and the faith based schools.

It is our hope that, in the period of our mandate, we will give more and more responsibilities to the faith-based schools to guide their products, so that the moralities and values associated with Christianity, religious worship, belief in God, integrity and honesty, are inculcated in our young people, when they are needed. We are going to reverse the paradigm shift and go back to the old arrangement."

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