The National Disaster Management Orgainsation (NADMO) has disclosed that more than 900 people in the Daffiama-Bussie-Issa (DBI) District were affected by a number of disasters that struck in 2019.
The disasters included domestic fires, floods, lightning and rainstorms which affected about 120 houses.
It was estimated that about 324 farmlands across the district were also affected by floods and bushfires.
Speaking at the inauguration of the District Disaster Management Committee at Issa in the DBI District, the District Director for NADMO, David Kuubini, revealed that the damage has been estimated to cost close to ₵500.000.00.
The National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) as part of its mandate under the Act 927 of 2016 is supposed to constitute Disaster Management Committees from the national level through to the district level.
At the District Level, the 16-member committee is to be chaired by the M/DCE with the District Director of NADMO as the secretary.
The Committees’ work will be focused on three main areas; Pre-emergency Disaster Management, Emergency Disaster Management and Post Emergency Disaster Management.
The District Director for NADMO, David Kuubini, said to prevent the huge losses in 2019 from recurring, the DBI District Disaster Management Committee will focus more on the Pre-emergency Disaster Management to ensure more citizens are sensitised to enable them prevent man-made disasters like bushfires, saying that “this is the most cardinal amongst all the stages. This is the point at which the organisation carries out relevant prevention activities such as awareness creation and sensitization in the district”.
Mr Kuubini disclosed that in 2019, the activities undertaken in the Pre-emergency stage include: public education on winds and rainstorms, public education on CSM and some preventative measures, public education of the negatives effects of bush fires and identification of safe havens in the district.
The DCE for DBI, Nadi Imoro Sanda who doubles as the Chairman for the committee, charged members of the committee to be committed in preventing disasters in the area.
“It is our hope that the Committee will work diligently and come up with plans that will resolve the challenges. I wish to encourage all of you here [Committee members] to embrace and work of the committee so that we can together minimise the risk so that we can have a safer environment,” he said.
Mr Imoro Sanda continued that: “we as a people can only minimise the risk of disasters but we cannot totally eliminate it.”
Meanwhile, the Regional Director for NAMDO, Ahmed Mustapha, has presented items worth ₵77,000.00 to the Chairman of the Regional Disaster Management Committee, Dr. Hafiz Bin Salih for onward distribution to the 11 Municipal and District NADMO Secretariats.
The items included 11 motorbikes, desktops computers, a water pumping machine and a chainsaw.
The Upper West Regional Minister who doubles as the Chairman of the Regional Disaster Management Committee, Dr. Hafiz Bin Salih, tasked the secretariats to use the equipment for the intended purpose and not for personal use.
Story filed by Mark Smith.
