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Former President Rawlings and other speakers at a brief June 4 anniversary celebration on Thursday took turns to express shock at the loss of lives from the torrential rains of Wednesday June 3.

The speakers related the disaster to the indiscriminate siting of fuel stations near residential areas as well as the siting of buildings on waterways and charged the relevant authorities not to shirk their responsibilities.

Former President Rawlings expressed his disgust at the indecent levels of corruption, which have manifested in the indiscriminate siting of properties on waterways leading to the flooding witnessed recently.  He cautioned Ghanaians to be mindful of the ideals of June 4 and advised Ghanaians to be each other’s keeper.

Flt Lt Rawlings sympathized with the families of the deceased and questioned who will cater for their fees and upkeep. The pursuit of money he bemoaned, had led to a state of mindlessness and irresponsibility.

“The god eat dog mentality must give way. We should do away with the ‘everyone for himself’ mentality. We should see each other as siblings,” the former President said.

This year’s celebration, which marked 36 years of the June 4 uprising, was brief because the former President, leader of the uprising, was keen to visit some of thedisaster areas.

Wreaths were laid to remember the fallen heroes followed by short solidarity messages.

National Organiser of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Kofi Adams in expressing his sympathies for the loss of lives in the fire and floods, said indiscipline was primarily to blame. He said June 4 happened as a result of the pervasive levels of inaction and stated it was time to rethink and relive the spirit of June 4 because the ideal of the era was about every citizen taking responsibility in shaping the national agenda.

Adams said: “We need to once again rededicate ourselves to cleaning the system. Let’s join hands in fighting corruption. The fighting spirit that was imbibed in us 36years ago must live on. We must continue to do what is good and right and together we can change our country.”

Alhaji Abdallah Ahmed Abdallah, National Treasurer of the NDC questioned the quality of designs most state engineers produce for the constructions of roads and drains and said until such engineers come out during the rains to assess the flow of water,they cannot produce effective flood drains capable of protecting human life. He admonished Ghanaians who are given different levels of responsibility to handle such roles with a patriotic zeal for the good of the country.