Former President, John Dramani Mahama, has called on the government to take bold decisions to resource the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) to live up to its responsibilities as the first port of call in the management of disaster situations in the country.
He said a well-resourced NADMO, particularly in the districts, would be battle ready to come to the aid of communities that would be affected by any form of disaster.
President Mahama made the call when the chiefs and people of the six traditional areas of the Tongu Traditional Areas called on him at his Cantonments office in Accra last Wednesday.
Support
They were in Accra to thank him for his support when they were hit by the spillage of the Akosombo and the Kpong dams in September, 2023.
The chiefs, who were from Mepe, Sokpoe, Battor, Volo and Torkor were led by the Member of Parliament (MP) for North Tongu Constituency, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, to show their appreciation to the former President for his interventions when he donated relief items to the people of the lower Volta Basin to alleviate their plight when they were hit by the flood waters from the two dams.
President Mahama, who is also the presidential candidate of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), described the efforts of the government as lethargic and insensitive.
According to the former President, disaster issues should not be politicized, and his visit to the affected areas in October, last year, was to draw the attention of the government and good-spirited individuals and institutions to the plight of the people, and not to score political points.
Former President Mahama expressed concern over the poor manner in which the New Patriotic Party government of Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo responded to the disaster.
Transparency
He commended the MP for North Tongu for constituting a transparency and accountability committee, chaired by Prof. Emmanuel Netsey-Afedo, in place to ensure proper distribution of the relief items to the people.
The former President urged state institutions to emulate such virtues of transparency and accountability.
Mr Okudzeto Ablakwa commended former President Mahama for the love he showed towards the people of Tongu in particular and the Volta Region at large.
He said former President Mahama never relented in consistently checking up on the people to ensure that the relief items were well distributed and the situation had abated.
The chiefs and the MP presented a citation to President Mahama to show their appreciation to him.
Source: graphiconline
