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Today marks 11 years since the June 3 disaster, one of the darkest days in Ghana’s history. On that tragic night in 2015, heavy rains flooded parts of Accra, and an explosion at the GOIL filling station near Kwame Nkrumah Circle claimed more than 150 lives. Many of the victims had sought shelter there, hoping to escape the floodwaters.
As we remember those who lost their lives, I cannot help but ask a difficult question: Have we truly learned from that tragedy?
Year after year, the rains return, and so do the floods. Communities are submerged, families are displaced, properties are destroyed, and lives continue to be at risk. Despite the promises, investigations, and recommendations that followed June 3, many of the challenges that contributed to the disaster still exist today.
Buildings continue to spring up on waterways. Drains remain choked with waste. Poor planning and weak enforcement persist. And each rainy season, we watch the same scenes unfold across Accra.
The greatest way to honour the memories of those we lost is not through speeches alone but through action. Eleven years later, the lesson of June 3 should still guide us: preventing disasters is far less costly than mourning their consequences.
As we remember the victims today, may we also renew our commitment to building safer communities and ensuring that such a tragedy never happens again.
By: Yamoah Ivy