Fire destroys properties worth about 1.4 billion cedis in Obuasi

Obuasi, Jan 25, GNA- Six domestic fire outbreaks caused damages to properties estimated at 1.4 billion cedis in the Obuasi municipality and the Adansi North district last year.

Mr Marcellus Kow Freiku, the Obuasi Municipal Co-ordinator of the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO), who disclosed this to the Ghana news Agency at Obuasi on Tuesday, said properties worth over 1.2 billion cedis got burnt when a house caught fire at Amangoase, a suburb of Obuasi.

He said apart from the fire outbreak, five rainstorms destroyed items estimated at 55 million cedis within the same year. Mr Freiku, who is also the NADMO Co-ordinator for the Adansi North, said the organisation received the highest supplies of aid last year from the Regional Co-ordinating Council (RCC) and the two assemblies, which enabled it to satisfy all outstanding disaster issues for the last three years.

The Co-ordinator also said that the items supplied including blankets, cement and other relief items were estimated at over 70 million cedis.

Mr Freiku announced that as part of measures to prevent destruction during storm, the organisation supplied 5,000 tree seedlings to the communities in the two assemblies for planting.

He, however, expressed concern about the lukewarm attitude of the two assemblies towards preparing a budget to support the Disaster Volunteer Groups (DVGs) to sustain the nursery project. Mr Freiku commended the DVGs for embarking on farming projects, which yielded 7.5 million cedis last year.

The NADMO Co-ordinator said his office would contact NADMO headquarters and the two assemblies to source assistance to support the youth with micro finance scheme towards poverty reduction among the youth in the areas.