June 3 disaster caused by failure to enforce spatial plans

Dr. Benedict Arkhurst, Head of Plan Preparation at the Land Use and Spatial Planning Authority (LUSPA), has attributed the tragic June 3, 2015, disaster to a lack of proper development control and failure to implement spatial plans.

The disaster, one of Ghana’s worst, occurred when torrential rains led to severe flooding around the Kwame Nkrumah Circle. Floodwaters mixed with leaking fuel from a nearby GOIL fuel station, triggering a massive explosion that killed over 150 people who had sought shelter from the downpour.

Speaking on Channel One TV’s The Point of View with Bernard Avle on Wednesday, June 4, Dr. Arkhurst said the tragedy should have been a turning point for urban planning in Ghana.

“It was a disaster that we all thought that, in going forward, such a thing shouldn’t happen again,” he indicated.

Dr. Arkhurst blamed the incident on the “non-implementation of the spatial plans and lack of proper development control by the planning authorities,” underscoring the urgent need for stricter enforcement of planning regulations to prevent future occurrences.

“Non-implementation of the spatial plans and lack of proper development control by the planning authorities,” he said.