We Are Helpless at Some Point: Minister Haruna Iddrisu Confronts Reality at Newtown Disaster Site | Discuss Ghana

 Late on Sunday night, March 29, 2026, Education Minister Hon. Haruna Iddrisu stood before a bank of microphones at the Accra Newtown Experimental School, his voice heavy with the gravity of the ongoing rescue operation.

Acknowledging the grueling challenges faced by the hundreds of personnel digging through the wreckage of a four-storey building, the Minister made a rare admission of the limitations of human effort in the face of such structural devastation.

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The Minister’s Admission

Speaking after a briefing from the Chief Fire Officer and NADMO commanders, Minister Iddrisu addressed the families of those still missing:

"We are helpless at some point. As much as we have the equipment and the will, the instability of the remaining slabs means we must move with a caution that feels like a delay to those waiting for news. We are fighting the clock, but we are also fighting the very physics of this collapse." — Hon. Haruna Iddrisu.

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Why the Rescue is "Stalled"

The Minister outlined three critical factors that have made the "helplessness" palpable tonight:

• Secondary Collapse Risk: Large sections of the uncompleted building are still hanging precariously. Using heavy excavators too aggressively could trigger a second collapse, crushing any remaining air pockets where survivors might be.

• Trapped Voices: Rescuers continue to hear faint shouts for help, which forces them to switch from machine power to slow, manual digging to avoid injuring those beneath the rubble.

• The "Experimental" Legacy: The Minister noted that because the building was an "abandoned project" left unfinished for over a decade, there are no reliable architectural blueprints to guide rescuers through the internal layout.

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Search Status Update: 10:00 PM (March 29, 2026)

Feature	Details
Confirmed Casualties	2 Dead (Found earlier this evening).
Rescued Survivors	16 People (Currently in hospital).
Estimated Missing	12–20 People (Based on church attendance logs).
Ministerial Order	Permanent closure of the Experimental School site for a forensic audit.

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The "National Reset" of Safety

Despite the feeling of helplessness, the Minister vowed that the incident would serve as the final catalyst for a National Reset of public infrastructure.

1. GETFund Injection: He confirmed that the GH₵1 billion emergency fund for school repairs would be fast-tracked to prioritize "Experimental" schools.

2. Legal Action: He promised that the contractors and officials who allowed an abandoned four-storey shell to be used as a "makeshift" church would face the full rigors of the law once the site is cleared.

"Tonight, we pray for the 16 survivors and the families of the two we have lost. Tomorrow, we begin the work of ensuring this never happens again." — Hon. Haruna Iddrisu.