Govt responds to rainstorm disaster victims in Tamale

Tamale, April 24, GNA - Government has sent relief items worth more than one billion cedis as an initial assistance to displaced persons affected by last Saturday rainstorm disaster that hit the Tamale Metropolis and its environs causing extensive damage to property. Mr Albert Kan Dapaah, Interior Minister, announced on Tuesday at a meeting with some of the disaster victims in Tamale.

The Minister was in Tamale with Mr Asamoah Boateng, Minister of Local Government, Rural Development and Environment and Mr George Isaac Amo, National Co-ordinator, National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) to inspect and access the extent of damage for the necessary support.

The ministers also used the visit to interact with the victims, to sympathise and reassure them of government's preparedness to help and reintegrate all affected citizens into the society.

The relief items included 200 packets of roofing sheets, 500 bags of rice, 1,000 blankets, 500 mats, 500 mattresses, 100 cartons of cooking oil, 2,000 plastic bowls and cups and 20 camp-beds. Mr Dapaah said, President Kufuor shared in the pain and grief the disaster victims were going through hence the swift response to address some of their immediate needs to alleviate their plight and frustration that the storm had caused them.

Mr Asamoah Boateng said the assistance that the government was giving was not based on partisan considerations but for all affected people of the Metropolis and urged the people to report any one who would ask victims of their political affiliation to the appropriate quarters for action.

Mr Boateng advised developers and town planners to cultivate the culture of maintenance and tree planting to be used as windbreaks to prevent the perennial rainstorm disasters.

The ministers led by Alhaji Mustapha Ali Idris, Northern Regional Minister, inspected government bungalows and some private houses affected by the storm to see how best the government and its development partners could address the problem to restore normalcy.

Later in a press briefing at the Residency, Mr Boateng called for special attention on residential development to ensure that the buildings were properly executed to prolong their life-span. Alhaji Mustapha Ali Idris, commended media personnel in the Region for reporting accurately and timely on the disaster and urged them to continue with their roles to enhance development.

Meanwhile, the Tamale Metropolitan Assembly has set up an Emergency Relief Fund, aimed at soliciting support from NGOs and individuals to help the disaster victims.

Mr Mohammed Amin Adam, Tamale Metropolitan Chief Executive (MCE), who announced this appealed to all to come to the aid of the people and the metropolis to put it back to its normal status particularly helping to restore fallen electricity pools.

A severe rainstorm, second in two months on Saturday night hit the Tamale Metropolis and its environs causing extensive damage to property worth billions of cedis and displacing some 3,500 people.

About 70 per cent of schools in the Metropolis had been affected, while more than 60 per cent of street electric poles had also collapsed and some big trees along some of the streets were uprooted blocking the roads.