Apiate Explosion: Govt fines Maxam Company $6 million

Maxam, the company at the center of the explosion that rocked Apiate last month has been fined $6 million by the government.

This was disclosed by the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Samuel Abu Jinapor in Accra.

In a press statement to this effect, the Minister said the company has accepted the fine and it’s collaborating with government to pay.

The amount is made up of $1 million fine and $5 million, which the company agreed with the Ministry, after extensive discussions, to pay to the government.

The statement said the fine was imposed after the report of the three-member committee constituted by the Minister to undertake independent investigations into the matter affirmed some regulatory breaches on the part of the company, in the manufacture, storage and transportation of explosives for mining and other civil works.

Although the penalties for the said breaches, pursuant to L.I. 2177, ranges between Six Hundred Ghana Cedis (GHS600.00) to Ten Thousand United States Dollars (USD10,000), the Statement said the Minister imposed the hefty fine due to the nature and the totality of the circumstance leading to this tragic incident.

The Minister has also set out fourteen (14) conditions to be met by the company before the restoration of its operating permit.

The Statement also said sanctions against Jocyderk Logistics Limited and Arthanns Enterprise and Transport Services, two entities involved in the Appiate tragic incident, are being reviewed and will be applied and communicated in due course.

The Information Ministry on Thursday, January 20, night confirmed that so far 17 persons have died from the explosion.

59 persons were also injured out of the 76 rescued.

A statement issued by Information Minister Kojo Oppong Nkrumah following the tragedy said:

“As at 17:00 hours, a total of seventeen (17) people have, sadly, been confirmed dead, and fifty-nine (59) injured persons had been rescued, bringing to seventy-six (76) the number of persons known, so far, to have been affected by the tragedy.

“Out of the fifty-nine (59) injured persons, forty-two (42) are receiving treatment and some in critical condition.”

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