President Mahama Announces Fund For Children Of Eight Helicopter Crash Victims
President John Mahama has announced the establishment of a special fund to meet the needs of the children of the eight people killed in the sad helicopter crash on August 6.
The President made the emotional news while attending the funeral of the late Deputy National Security Coordinator, Alhaji Mohammed Muniru Limuna.
The government’s decision comes in the aftermath of the tragic accident that killed all eight persons aboard the Ghana Air Force Harbin Z-9 helicopter.
President Mahama stressed the importance of protecting the victims’ dependents from hardship, notably noting the two-month-old infant of military pilot Peter Bafemi.
During his address on Tuesday, August 12, the President highlighted the profound loss felt by the nation and the responsibilities now facing the government and citizens.
“It’s a difficult calamity. Because if you look at all those who died, they were at the prime of their lives and had so much responsibility, children still in school, and some even with infants as young as two months… These responsibilities are what we have to take up to make sure that the absence of the parents does not adversely affect the innocent children.”
A state funeral for all eight victims is scheduled for this Friday, August 15, according to President Mahama.
The fund’s complete information will be formally revealed at this important occasion. The goal of the fund is to support the children’s future welfare and education.
“At the funeral, we will announce a programme for creating a fund that will assist with the education of their children,” he said. “Persons who want to contribute to the future of the children they’ve left behind would have the opportunity to do so.”
Two cabinet ministers, Ibrahim Murtala Muhammad (Minister for Environment, Science, Technology, and Innovation) and Dr. Edward Omane Boamah (Minister for Defense), were among the well-known individuals who lost their lives in the accident.
Acting Deputy National Security Coordinator Muniru Mohammed, former parliamentary candidate Samuel Aboagye, and National Democratic Congress (NDC) Vice Chairman Samuel Sarpong were also among the dead.
The crew members of the helicopter, Sergeant Ernest Addo Mensah, Flying Officer Manin Twum-Ampadu, and Squadron Leader Peter Bafemi Anala, were the remaining victims.
In order to attend an event geared at preventing illegal mining, or galamsey, the group was traveling to Obuasi in the Ashanti Region.
The search and rescue effort ended tragically after the plane fell off radar.
