Director of Communications at the National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO), George Ayisi has disclosed that the Organization has had only about 15% of its budget allocation released to it so far this year.
Speaking to Francis Abban on GHOne TV’s State of Affairs in response to the NADMO’s preparedness in providing relief to person affected by the ongoing Akosombo and Kpong Dam spillage, George Ayisi admitted that NADMO would have struggled without the monetary intervention of the Volta River Authority, VRA
“It would have been very difficult, we had a little supplies but it wouldn’t have been enough to deal with the numbers we have. I am being honest with you”, he disclosed.
“The finance minister has given us assurances that as and when emergency happens but as disaster managers we need to preposition our relief items before the occurrence but we don’t have enough to cater for the numbers”, he added.
George Ayisi when pressed on the quantum of resources available to NADMO described the releases from the finance ministry as “not encouraging”
“On budgetary issues I can’t put figures out but the truth is we got 10-15% therabout so far. Our budget releases are not to encouraging as far as NADMO is concerned”
“As a country we need to do more in disaster management, evacuation centres and all should be… We need to begin to factor them in our plans. We need to prioritize matters of disaster management because almost every year we have issues of disaster”, he concluded
NADMO says that so far, some 26,000 people across 9 districts beneath the Akosombo Dam along the Volta Lake have been displaced since the spillage began on 15th September.
Source: Ghana/Starrfm.com.gh/103.5FM/Edem Kojo
