Ghana: Provide Periodic Updates On Helicopter Crash Investigations …GJA to GAF
The Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) has urged the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) to be proactive in providing periodic updates on the helicopter crash incident that claimed the lives of eight individuals, including two cabinet ministers, three senior government officials, and three Air Force crew members a week ago.
According to the President of the GJA, Mr Albert Kwabena Dwumfour, providing an update on the incident would help clear doubts and speculations among the general public.
Mr Dwumfour stated this when he led a delegation from the Association to engage the Chief of the Defence Staff (CDS) of the GAF, Lieutenant General William Agyapong, at his office at Burma Camp in Accra on Wednesday.
The purpose of the engagement was to commiserate with the GAF following the death of the eight individuals who were killed in the helicopter crash and also discuss the issue of the assault on journalists by military personnel.
Mr Dwumfour said, “I know you have already started investigations into the helicopter crash incident, but I will, respectively urge you and invoke your authority to start giving periodic updates. This is because this is a country where misinformation and disinformation thrives and fake news can contaminate the minds and hearts of people.”
“I believe that periodic and constant briefing, in this regard, will help clear some doubts,” Mr Dwumfour added.
He urged the CDS to ensure that the issue of military assault on journalists was fully addressed to maintain the cordial relationship that existed between the GAF and the GJA.
“We have always said that the military is our friend. The GJA had always enjoyed a very good and cordial relationship with the military high command, and I promise you that we will do same under your leadership,” Mr Dwumfour said.
He extended the condolence of the GJA to the GAF and bereaved families of the individuals involved into the helicopter crash.
For his part, Lt. Gen. Agyapong urged the citizenry to be patient with the GAF with regards to the provision of periodic updates on the helicopter crash incident as investigations into such incidents take time.
“Investigations into aircraft accidents of this nature take time. Probably, for what you are referring to, when incidents like this happen, the initial communication that comes up has to do with the passengers and where the families of the passengers can receive information, but the initial communication can not delve into the accident,” Lieutenant General Agyapong said.
The CDS stated that the recovery exercise that was carried out by the GAF after the helicopter crash was one of the fastest recovery exercises that involved a helicopter crash in the country.
According to him, the last recovery exercise that was undertaken when a similar incident occurred in the Atiwa forest took three days for the GAF to get to the accident scene.
“In our case, when we suspected that something might have happened to the Air Force Z-9 aircraft, it took us additional 30 minutes for us to apply the known protocols to see where it was,” Lt. Gen. Agyapong said, as he narrated the process under which the remains of the helicopter crash incident were transported from the accident scene to Accra.
Lt. Gen. Agyapong said, “We don’t endorse assault on journalists and civilians. Probably what we haven’t done is that to appease the victims, we need to let them know what punishment have been meted out to the culprits.”
He, therefore, assured the GJA of periodic updates on the punishment meted out to military personnel that were involved in assault cases.
By Ghanaian Times.
