The Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources has absolved itself from the responsibility of compensating residents of Appiate who were displaced by an explosion in the town this year.

It says it is nonetheless committed to raising enough funds to “reconstruct the community and support the victims of the incident”.

The explosion killed 14 people and left several others injured.

Pressure is mounting on the government to fast-track the process of reconstructing the town after scores of residents were displaced by the incident.

Following the explosion, the government set up a support fund aimed at providing relief items to affected persons and the reconstruction of the entire community.

The Appiate Support Fund has received over GH¢35 million in donations so far.

The Ministry called on Ghanaians to continually donate to the Fund to help raise enough funds to complete the reconstruction and support the community.

It also indicated that victims of the Appiate disaster are not restrained from taking legal action to demand compensation.

The Ministry’s comments follow former President, John Mahama’s visit to the area on Tuesday where he appealed to the government to work towards compensating the victims.

Below is the full statement from the Lands Ministry: