Following the tragic drowning of seven students from Lawra Senior High School, the Minister of the Interior, Mohammed-Mubarak Muntaka; and the Minister for Energy and Green Transition, John Abdulai Jinapor, are set to appear before Parliament next week, according to citinewsroom.com.
The ministers have been summoned to answer questions regarding the incident and to address urgent concerns about the lack of life jackets in communities that rely on water transport.
The tragedy occurred on the morning of Saturday, June 14, 2025, when a group of ten students from the school’s cadet corps attempted to cross the Black Volta River near Dikpe, Upper West Region.
Their canoe capsized midway, throwing all occupants into the river.
While three students managed to swim to safety, the remaining seven drowned.
Given the significance of the Black Volta River, John Jinapor has been summoned specifically to respond to questions about safety measures for communities along the river.
The summoning was announced during the Tuesday, June 17 parliamentary session when the Second Deputy Speaker, Andrew Asiamah Amoako, endorsed a proposal by Majority Chief Whip, Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor, calling for the ministers to appear before the House.
Amoako emphasised the urgency of the matter, stating, “If we can look at the budget of the interior ministry, so that a certain portion of their budget will be allocated to take care of this emergency. It is very critical.”
Additionally, the Member of Parliament for Lawra, Bede Ziedeng, has also appealed to the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO), the Regional Coordinating Council, and the Lawra Municipal Assembly to urgently supply life jackets to communities along the Black Volta.
“I appeal to NADMO, the Regional Coordinating Council and the Lawra Municipal Assembly to come to the aide of Lawra SHS and the bereaved families,” citinewsroom.com quoted him as saying.
The MP further pledged to personally donate ten life jackets to the affected communities and urged Parliament to take immediate legislative action to prevent further tragedies.
VKB/AE
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