The Parliamentary Committee on Defence and Interior, led by its Chairman, Hon. James Agalga, has visited victims of the El-Wak Stadium stampede who are receiving treatment at the 37 Military Hospital in Accra.
Hon. Agalga noted that two statements had earlier been made on the floor of Parliament by Minority Chief Whip Hon. Frank Annoh-Dompreh and Hon. Edem Agbana, stressing the need for parliamentary intervention.
“We are here in pursuit of the Speaker’s directive that the Committee takes steps to look into the matter, whether in the form of a probe or investigation,” he stated.
The Chairman revealed that the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) has already instituted a Board of Enquiry to determine the circumstances that led to the unfortunate incident. He assured the victims that Parliament cares deeply about their welfare and will work to ensure accountability and preventive measures.
Hon. Agalga further stressed that concrete steps will be taken to forestall the recurrence of such tragic incidents in future recruitment exercises.
For his part, the Ranking Member of the Committee, Hon. Ntim Fordjour, expressed sympathy to the victims and their families and appealed for restraint.
“We will look into it objectively and offer constructive recommendations for the way forward,” he said.
He urged the government to suspend all ongoing nationwide recruitment exercises until adequate safety measures are put in place to safeguard lives.
“We are appealing to the Government that, in the best interest of safeguarding lives of potential recruits, all nationwide recruitment exercises be put to a halt or suspended for optimal measures to be put in place,” he added.
Hon. Fordjour also called for adequate compensation for the families of those who lost their lives and urged that victims who recover and are medically fit be given priority by the Ghana Armed Forces.
He reiterated the Committee’s commitment to supporting the GAF and the Ministry of Defence in implementing effective measures to prevent similar occurrences in the future.
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