Ghana will on Friday, June 3 hold a memorial service in the heart of the country's capital, Accra to mark the day when 153 Ghanaians lost their lives.

The grand service is scheduled to take place at the Rev. Ernest Bruce Memorial Methodist Church at Adabraka in Accra near the epicentre of the disaster.

President John Dramani Mahama, ministers, functionaries of the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC), and some officials of opposition political parties are expected to join the Accra City authorities and  survivors at the function to mark the day.  

Exactly a year ago today [June 3, 2015] the nation woke up to what has largely been described as the greatest tragedy in the history of the country.

The barricaded Goil Filling Station at the Kwame Nkrumah Circle

An explosion at a Goil Filling Station at the Kwame Nkrumah Circle, triggered by floods, resulted in the death of an estimated 153 Ghanaians, many of them burnt beyond recognition.

Nurses, teachers, artisans, bankers, students, and children were among the people who lost their lives in the disaster.

A picture showing the burnt Goil Filling Station

Any Lessons learnt?

Many Ghanaians and some civil society groups doubt that the nation has learnt any lessons from the disaster.

They have questioned the preparedness of the city to keep residents safe if the rains come in volumes that were seen on June 3.

National Coordinator of the National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO), Brigadier General Francis Vib-Sanziri disclosed the conditions which existed during the June 3 disaster continue to persist in the city.

According to him, some of the filling stations especially the Total Filling Station at the Mallam Junction among others continue to sit on water courses thereby exposing the city to more flooding in the future.

But the Chief Executive Officer of the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA), Dr Alfred Oko Vanderpuiye has expressed confidence in the ability of the city to withstand flooding in the future.

At a news conference on June 1, the AMA boss said considering the dredging activities on-going on the Odaw river and the Korle Lagoon among other measures being put in place, the city is in  a better position than it was when the disaster struck in 2015.

"And this is just 40 percent of the work needed to be done," he boasted.