NADMO distributes relief items to victims of Akosombo Dam spillage in Shai Osudoku

Some relief items have been distributed to persons displaced by the ongoing spillage of the Akosombo Dam by the Volta River Authority (VRA) in the Shai Osudoku District of the Greater Accra Region.

The items procured by the National Disaster Management organization (NADMO) were handed over to officials of the local Assembly for onward distribution to the affected persons.

Presiding Member (PM) of the Shai Osudoku District Assembly, Noah Sabutey received the items on behalf of the DCE, Fred Offei at a short ceremony at the forecourts of the District Assembly on Monday, October 16, 2023.

The items included 1000 pieces of plastic buckets, 1000 basins, 3000 plastic plates, 3000 plastic cups, 50 bags of 5kg rice, 10 bottles of cooking oil, 5 cartons of sugar, 100 pieces of blankets, 100 pieces of mosquito nets, 20 cartons of soap, 10 bags of used clothing, 15 cartons of mosquito coil and 100 mattresses.

The Shai Osudoku District NADMO Director, Nana Asante Boateng who handed over the items to the PM on behalf of the director-general of NADMO, Nana Eric Agyemang Prempeh noted that the relief items were meant for residents affected by the flood and not everyone in the various communities to avoid complaints from the affected residents of not benefiting from the items.

More than 600 persons including men, women, and children have so far been affected in one way or the other by the spillage of the dam with many of them being housed in schools.

Many homes in the area have either been submerged or collapsed by the spillage of the dam.

Nana Asante Boateng said in an interview after the presentation that the organization, following its early warning signals to the people residing along the river banks, managed to evacuate most occupants of the area before the spillage, an action he said helped to mitigate the impact of the activity.

According to him, the disbursement would be based on data collated on the disaster which is available to the organization to identify the victims and extend the assistance to them.

Despite insisting that NADMO was well-prepared ahead of the spillage in terms of organization, he nevertheless appealed to corporate bodies, organizations, and other bodies to come on board and support the organization to support the plight of the victims, especially as the spillage continues unabated.

Though the NADMO coordinator insisted that enough education was given to the residents ahead of the exercise, he noted that not many heeded the warning resulting in some of them getting trapped in the process.

He blamed the decision of some residents to build on waterways and in low-lying areas as part of the problem and appealed to residents to seek permits from the Assembly before embarking on building projects.

Presiding member (PM) for the Shai Osudoku District Assembly, Noah Sabutey receiving the items on behalf of the District Chief Executive (DCE) for Shai said the Assembly had been proactive in coordinating the distribution of relief items to the victims.

According to him, some necessities such as mattresses, mosquito nets, and used clothing amongst others have been supplied by the Assembly and the VRA so far.

He identified accommodation as a critical need of the people affected by the spillage, adding that discussions were underway with the Volta River Authority (VRA) to assist by providing temporal accommodation for the victims.

He expressed the appreciation of the assembly to NADMO, adding that the items would go a long way to mitigate the plight of the people in the interim.