Kessben Outreach Foundation, the social responsibility arm of Kessben Media Group has donated 50,000 to the Appiatse Support Fund towards the redevelopment of the community.
The group has further made available 3,000 bags of cement for the planned reconstruction works to be carried out in the community which was raised down by a dynamite explosion, killing 13 and injuring many others on January 20.
One thousand of the bags of cement were donated by the company while the remaining 2,000 was solicited for from the public through its media platforms in Accra and Kumasi.
At a presentation ceremony in Accra yesterday, Andrew Danso Aninkorah, General Manager of Kessben Media Group, said, the disaster had come with challenges that required the efforts of all Ghanaians to help in reconstructing the community.
He said the company was concerned about the current state of the affected persons and was open to making contributions towards bringing normalcy to Appiatse.
The fatal accident at Appiatse, he said, was an opportunity for the media organisation to show the way and lead in bringing people together to promote development.
“We believe as a media organisation, we should lead the way and bring people together for a good cause.
We are dedicating our platforms in making appeals and supporting developmental activities and the Appiatse incident offers us the opportunity to learn,” Mr Aninkorah added.
The company, he noted, had for the past 17 years, undertaken relief projects for various needy groups and individuals across the country.
Receiving the dummy cheque, Rev. Joyce Aryee, Chairman of the Appiatse Support Fund Committee, said, the government was focused on reconstructing Appiatse into a unique and sustainable green community that would be a model for the redevelopment of other areas.
She noted that centralising donations through the Support Fund was necessary to ensure accountability and effective disbursements.
She said the Appiatse incident and subsequent support efforts should help in creating interest toward supporting each other.
“Let’s use the incident to redirect the minds of Ghanaians in helping one another,” Rev. Aryee stated.
Deputy Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Benito Owusu-Bio and also the Chairman of the Appiatse Reconstruction Implementation Committee, said the
reconstruction would engage the community members on communal labour terms to make them productive.
Already, a scheme for the redevelopment of the land, he said, had been developed by the Land Use and Spatial Planning Authority (LUSPA), which would have the inputs of the community through a consultation process.
Mr Owusu-Bio said the scheme would determine the architectural designs of the structures to be developed.
BY CLAUDE NYARKO ADAMS
