Every country has organisations that cater for the safety of citizens in various ways because situations that call for safety come in various forms.
Therefore, the armed forces and other security services, for instance, are in place to ensure there is no external aggression or internal disturbance that would undermine national peace, order, security and general safety.
For a similar reason, the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) has been established to deal with all manner of disasters in collaborations with other relevant organisations such as the Ghana National Fire Service, the Ghana Police Service and the Ambulance Service.
In Ghana, the citizenry expects that in times of disasters like floods and tidal waves, NADMO is supposed to be the frontline organisation to come to the aid of victims.
Two weeks to this year’s Easter celebrations early this month, tidal waves destroyed houses and other property and displaced hundreds of residents of Adina, Agavedzi, Amutinu, Blekusu and Salakorpe in the Ketu South Municipality of the Volta Region.
The disaster victims rejected relief items such as buckets and tents from the NADMO),saying such paltry offers would not solve the problem.
They insisted that they needed a sea defence wall as a permanent solution to the problem.
The aggrieved victims on Wednesday, March 31, 2021, demonstrated to express their displeasure over what they described as the government’s sheer negligence in protecting them against the ravages of tidal waves.
While no help was forthcoming,some of the more than 700 tidal wave victims relocated to Dzetagba (salt lagoon) to engage in fishing and salt mining, with majority of them perching with their relatives.
Yesterday,the NADMO expressed grave concern over the safety of 170 of the victims who have now settled on a tiny hill on Dzetagba.
“It is only a matter of time when the rains and more floods will submerge the structures which they have put up for themselves as homes, said the Ketu South Municipal Director of NADMO, Mr Paul Alossode.
The Ghanaian Times is not enthused at all about the worry expressed by NADMO. The paper expected the organisation to have updated the victims on the promises by the Municipal Chief Executive and the Regional Minister used to calm the victims when they took to the streets on March 31.
Second, everyone can and has expressed concern but not NADMO after weeks of the disaster. NADMO, by this time, should have started implementing a plan to move the victims to a safe place rather than come to frighten them that very soon, when the rains set in, their situation would worsen.
NADMO’s approach to its own task of disaster management across the country is ridiculous and it is about time it became proactive to ensure the safety of people rather than wait for people to be overwhelmed by disasters and go in to give them cups, buckets and such other items or raise tents for them.
Sometimes, poor people get their roofs ripped off by rainstorms and NADMO fails to reroof those buildings. Doesn’t it receive roofing sheets for such purposes?
NADMO can do better to ensure the safety of the people or ameliorate their suffering when disaster strikes.
