District assemblies requested to assist disaster victims

Cape Coast July 5, GNA- Papa Owusu Ankomah, the Minister of the Interior, on Monday appealed to district assemblies to allot five per cent of the District Assembly Common Fund for disaster relief. He said it was the responsibility of district assemblies to immediately take care of disaster victims, but expressed regret that most districts were unable to perform that role and instead waited for support from National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) alone. Papa Owusu Ankomah was speaking when he presented the first consignment of relief items worth 1.3 billion cedis to five districts in the Central Regions that were affected by rainstorm last month, at Cape Coast.

The items including 200 pockets of roofing sheets, 400 pieces of poly mats, 400 bags of rice, 70 cartons of cooking oil, 400 bags of cement, 400 plates 400 cups, 400 blankets, 400 plastic basins and 400 pieces of plastic buckets.

Papa Ankomah stressed that every district was obliged to immediately intervene and support disaster victims before seeking outside assistance.

He also expressed concern about the way people littered the streets with plastic waste that find their way into culverts. Mr Ankomah told the disaster victims that their plight was of great concern to the government and stressed that everything would be done to rehabilitate them.

Mr Isaac Edumadze, the Central Regional Minister, who received the items on behalf of the districts, commended the government for the gesture.

He said assistance would be sort to help repair the roads that were destroyed by torrential rains and called on non-governmental organisations to come to the aid of the victims. It would be recalled that on June 4 at midnight through June 5 2005 there was torrential rains in the Central Region that caused floods in the five districts.

The rainstorm in which about 5,653 people were rendered homeless affected more than 69 towns and villages. 4 July 05