The Member of Parliament for Walewale, Dr. Abdul Kabiru Tiah Mahama, has urged the government to provide more comprehensive support for families affected by the recent El-Wak Stadium stampede.
He argued that the government’s gesture of offering Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) recruitment slots to relatives of the deceased, while commendable, may not sufficiently address the magnitude of the loss suffered.
Speaking on JoyNews’ Newsfile on Saturday, Dr. Tiah Mahama described the incident as tragic, noting that for grieving families, “unemployment is better than the loss of life.”
He emphasised that the state should consider additional forms of compensation that acknowledge the suffering and irreplaceable loss experienced by the bereaved.
The MP’s comments came after the government directed families of the six victims to submit names of qualified relatives for automatic recruitment into the GAF. The tragedy occurred during a mass recruitment exercise when a sudden surge of applicants resulted in a deadly crush, leaving six people dead and several others critically injured.
During a visit to one of the affected families in Eyan Maim, Deputy Defense Minister Ernest Brogya Genfi confirmed that President John Dramani Mahama had instructed that each family be offered an automatic recruitment slot as a gesture of support.
Dr. Abdul-Kabiru acknowledged that while the offer of recruitment slots may provide some consolation, it cannot replace the lives lost.
He stressed the importance of continuous improvements to recruitment exercises to prevent similar tragedies in the future, maintain public confidence, and ensure that affected families receive both meaningful recognition and adequate support from the state.
