This revelation was made on the Citi Breakfast Show on Tuesday, by consultant plastic surgeon and Director of the National Reconstructive Plastic Surgery and Burns Center at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, Dr. Opoku-Ware Ampomah.

He noted that, burns from gas explosions account for about 44% of deaths recorded at the burns centre.

[contextly_sidebar id=”mne9uRoEj6yMz5t5t3mCsB1ImGtbEBwb”]“Most of the burns are domestic. I’d say about 80 percent are domestic. Occasionally, we have a bit where there is mass casualty situation. About 35 to 40 percent of the fuel burns admissions are from petroleum and gas explosions. So they account for a significant junk of the burns cases that we receive. And because of the severity of the injuries that they get, they account for over 44% of the death from burns annually,” he noted.

Dr. Ampomah made the revelation on the back of fuel explosions recorded nationwide with the recent one being the gas explosion that occurred last Saturday at Atomic junction near the University of Ghana in Accra.

In that explosion, seven people perished, while 132 others suffered various degrees of injury.

Over 30 people have died since 2014 due to gas explosions.

NHIS pays GHc1, 000 out of GHc30, 000 spent on burns patients

Dr. Ampomah also disclosed that, burns patients spend an average of GHc30, 000, but the country’s National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) covers only GHc1, 000.

He said a lot more burns patients die because they are unable to pay for such charges.

“When somebody sustains about 30 or 40 percent, by the time they leave the hospital, they would have spent not less than GHc30, 000 on their treatment, and this is the acute treatment alone – I’m talking of the immediate care to get them discharged from the hospital… And at the moment, the health insurance scheme only provides just about a GHc1, 000 per burns patient.”

“So if you have somebody with just 30% burns who needs an average of about GHc30, 000 in an acute state, and health insurance is providing only GHc1, 000 for the treatment, then you can imagine the kind of difficulty the person will go through,” he noted.

The plastic surgeon explained that, although some philanthropists subsidize the amount, Dr. Ampomah noted that, the patients still struggle to bear the cost.

“Most of the time we have to find a way of getting benevolent people to subsidize the treatment of some of these patients, and that also adds to the mortality because there are many patients who cannot just afford the treatment that is required,” he added.

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By: Godwin Akweiteh Allotey/citifmonline.com/Ghana
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He also says this posture also brings reproach to Ghana as a corporate entity.

According to the legislator, the two institutions issue out mining licenses to investors without considering the true situation on the ground.

This practice according to him, makes it impossible for local miners to detect which specific areas have been given to investors; a situation which is breeding confusion between two investors in his area.

“Minerals Commission officials do not go to the site to go and look out who actually owns that site. As I speak to you, one concession has been sold to two investors. Instead of them going down to the ground to verify for themselves actually what is happening over there they do not do so, they sit at the comfort of their offices  and issue out licenses,” he explained

In an interview with Citi News, Mr. Blay said the inability of the two institutions to demarcate areas for mining has resulted in miners mining sacred places and forest reserves.

He cited instances where some sacred places and shrines within his constituency have been taken over by miners, resulting in the relocation of some gods.

“It looks as if we are mining all sacred areas, the gods we are relocating them, if you come to my area, Assou Kofi has been relocated, cemeteries are being mined, if you go to other areas forest reserves are being mined, so we need to get a no go area,” he suggested.

The MP also indicated that the same attitude by the regulating bodies has prompted illegal miners known as ‘galamsay’ operators to continue with their harmful act giving ‘no respect’ to the type and place of their mine.

By: Obrempong Yaw Ampofo/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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The Chief Inspector of Mines, Obiri Yeboah Twumasi, explained that the reconstitution of the task force had become necessary because of the inability of the old task force to perform its duties.

The newly-reconstituted task force, which is different from the presidential task force, is made up of members of the sand winners association, stone quarry association and tipper truck drivers association.

The task force had been drawn from all the major outlets of the Minerals Commission located at Accra, Takorase (Eastern Region), Kumasi and Takoradi.

According to Mr. Twumasi, it was sad to notice that almost all those in the industrial mining industry were seriously flouting the rules.

The task force is mainly to ensure that people involved in sand winning, stone quarrying and the like did not flout rules governing their work.

Joseph Frimpong, Senior Mines Inspector, Minerals Commission, cited winning outside concession boundaries, illegal allotment of land, false area declaration of site plan, and lack or compensation or inadequate compensation for people whose lands might have been used for industrial mining, as some of the challenges facing the work of the Commission.

He appealed to operators to desist from working close to streams and rivers, national assets like power pylons, railways, among others.

Source: GNA

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He noted that Ghanaians have allowed politics to interfere with efforts to rid the nation of galamsey activities and that must end.

Justice Apau made the remarks at the Commission’s sitting in Accra, when Dr Toni Aubynn, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Minerals Commission, appeared before it to present accounts of outstanding claims against the institution.

Dr Aubynn said the Minerals Commission is the constitutionally mandated body in Ghana responsible for the regulation and management of the utilization of the mineral resources.

He said the Commission also issues licenses to mining, sand winning, and quarrying companies, and also ensures compliance with Ghana’s mining and mineral laws and regulation through monitoring.

He said the Commission grants license to small-scale miners, adding that those miners however indulge in galamsey activities or operate  illegally outside their areas of concession sometimes.

Justice Apau enquired from the CEO the difference between the Minerals Commission and the Chamber of Mines.

In response, the CEO explained that the Chamber of Mines is the main industry association in Ghana, declaring that the Chamber represents the collective interests of companies involved in mineral exploration in Ghana.

The Sole Commissioner further asked Dr Aubynn of the origin of the word “galamsey”.

The CEO observed that galamsey is a corrupted word which means “gather and sell in defiance of authority.”

Dr. Aubynn recounted that during national elections period, parliamentary candidates of opposition parties often promise galamsey operators that they will legalize it once they come to power, only to win votes.

He advised politicians to desist from such acts, adding that “I always tell the parliamentarians that we have to solve the issue together now, or face it forever.”

Other state institutions that appeared at the sitting to present information on  outstanding claims against them were, the Bank of Ghana, the Bureau of National Investigations(BNI) and the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development.

The Bank of Ghana was represented by Mr Nana Egyapong, Schedule Officer for Government Payments, and Saviour Kudze of the Legal Department.

After seeking for clarification on the terms of reference of the subpoena, they asked for an adjournment.

The Commission has since granted their request and they are to re-appear before it on Wednesday, May 28.

Mr. Sokpo said the Ministry of Education, which was also supposed to appear before it had requested that it be re-scheduled to appear on June 11.

Source: GNA

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