President assures flood victims of support

Bawku (UE), Sept. 21, GNA - President John Dramani Mahama on Thursday, assured flood victims in Bawku Municipal, Bawku West and Garu-Tempane in the Upper East Region that were hit by the recent floods that government would support them.

The President made the assurance when he toured some of the flood areas to assess the extent of damage caused. It would be recalled that as a result of the recent heavy rains in the region and the spillage of the Bagre dam in Burkina Faso, some people lost their lives. Farms and houses were damaged including the loss of animals.

In Garu-Tempane District alone for instance, three people lost their lives with about 1,405 houses and four schools being affected. Also about seven hundred acreage of crop lands made up of maize, millet and rice were destroyed.

The road from Kongo to Baseyonde in Garu-Tempane District had also been cut off and its culverts damaged.

A similar destruction had taken place in Bawku Municipality, Bawku West, Builsa, Bolgatanga, East and West Kassena Nankana and the Talensi and Nabdam Districts, among others.

Addressing some of the affected persons at Mognori in the Bawku Municipal, President Mahama said Government had tasked the National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO) and the Savannah Accelerated Development Authority (SADA) to come to the aid of the victims very soon.

The President presented some relief items to some of the affected victims at Mognori and assured them that they would be receiving more.

President Mahama had earlier visited the Paramount Chief of Bawku, Naba Asigri Abugrago Azoka 111 and commended him for the peace in the area and appealed to him to ensure that a lasting peace returned.

The Paramount Chief called on Government to ensure that there was peace before, during and after the forthcoming general elections and admonished the youth in Bawku to emulate the good works of the President.

The President could not however visit Basoyonde in the Garu-Tempane District, one of the affected areas where a crowd were waiting. He had rescheduled the time to visit that area.

The Chief of Mognori, Naba Alhaji Mahamadu Azongo appealed to the President to help construct more dams for the people to stop farmers from farming along the river banks.

He also entreated Government to reactivate the Mognori Bricks and Tile factory to create jobs for the youth to reduce the rural urban migration.

GNA