The Eastern Regional Coordinating Council has instituted and inaugurated a five-member Committee of Enquiry to look into the collapsed Bonsu Arboretum Canopy Walkway. The Committee has the Deputy Regional Police Commander, A.C.P James Abass Abaah as its Chairman and Sarpong Boakye Yiadom of the R.C.C. as secretary. Other members are the Regional Fire Officer, A.C.F.O. P.K. Donkor, Alfred Agyemang of N.A.D.M.O and Bertha Appeynarh of the Ghana Tourism Board.
Inaugurating the committee, the Regional Minister, Antwi-Boasiako Sekyere told the members that they were carefully selected based on their expertise and it is expected of them to complete the task within two weeks. He outlined their terms of reference as delving into the causes of the fatal accident, ensuring that operations and safety measures are put in place for the facility, make recommendations for the safe use of the facility and any other issue of interests on the public use of the facility.
The Minister assured the public that, the work of the committee will not in any way interfere in the ongoing investigations of the police. This he said, is to make proper assessment to forestall any future occurrences.
It would be recalled that, more than 20 holiday revellers were injured when they fell off from the canopy walkway on the Republic Day this year. The management of the facility gave conflicting accounts that the incident happened because some unauthorized persons sneaked onto the walkway when they had stopped issuing tickets to the people causing overloading on the bridge. They also claimed that a branch of a tree fell on the bridge forcing it down.
As a result of this, the Minister ordered the closure of the facility for a proper investigation to be conducted, hence the institution of the committee. The chairman of the committee, A.C.P. James Abass Abaah was thankful to the R.C.C. for the trust reposed in them and promised that they would do their best for the people of the region and the country as a whole. He said, safety and security measures in tourism facilities should not be taken lightly saying, whatever happened that day was a blot on the industry. They hope to work diligently without prejudice, favour and fear of anything.
Signed
Prosper Fetor – Tsormana
(Public Relations Officer)
