A vice chairman of the governing New Patriotic Party Omarie Wadie has mounted a spirited defense for government’s handling of the devastating floods that have hit the 3 regions of the North.
According to Mr Wadie, the seriousness with which President Akufo-Addo attaches to the disaster resulted in the summoning of his Burkinabe counterpart Roch Marc Christian Kaboré over the spillage of the Bagre Dam.
The two Presidents met in Accra on Tuesday after which Nana Addo proposed a roadmap for a lasting solution to the perennial floods that accompany spillage of the Bagre Dam in Burkina Faso.
President Akufo-Addo and his Vice Dr Mahamudu Bawumia have been heavily criticized not visiting victims of the floods resulting from spillage of the Bagre Dam and torrential rains in the Northern, Upper East and Upper West regions.
Speaking on Weekly review on Morning Starr with Francis Abban, Omari Wadie said the focus of government is to get relief for the affected and not issuance of statements.
“I believe that yes you can make all those statements but if you don’t take any action it’s meaningless. I prefer what is happening now. The words will come, it will definitely come, and words will definitely come”.
“You have just been told that the vice president is going there. I don’t believe he is just going there. He is going to look at the situation, meet residents and statements will be made. That is why they have even brought the President of Burkina here to discuss and take steps that will change the situation that will prevent such future occurrences” He added.
The opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) has accused vice-president Dr Mahamudu Bawumia of being insensitive and neglecting residents of his home region in the wake of the floods. The accusation follows a visit by Dr Bawumia to Tamale last week Saturday for an official assignment without visiting the flood victims.
But Mr Wadie argued the Vice President went for a briefing on the disaster for immediate action to be taken. “But I’m still insisting that the most important thing is to provide the people what they need to survive and that are what government currently is focused on. He (Dr Mahamudu Bawumia) went up there got the briefings, he (Dr Bawumia) is here, he (Dr Mahamudu Bawumia) going back, he (Dr Bawumia) has dispatched whatever he (Dr Bawumia) needs to dispatch”, Mr Wadie stated.
The floods in the 3 regions up North have so far claimed 18 lives, with one missing and displaced over fifty thousand persons, according to the National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO).
Source: Ghana/Starrfmonline.com/103.5FM/Ibrahim Alhassan
