Government spokesperson on infrastructure for the Nana Addo-led administration Richard Asante Yeboah, has refuted claims by the opposition NDC that the people of Ketu South have been abandoned by the government, especially NADMO in providing them with relief items.
He said the district NADMO officials of Ketu South have been in the affected areas hit by the tidal wave to aid the victims with supplies and to assess the situation over there. He also pointed out that even though NADMO have been in the affected areas, he thinks their effort is not enough to alleviate their plight and thus expects more from government in that direction.
Mr Yeboah pointed out in an interview with Berla Mundi on the New Day show on TV3, Friday, June 4, that private individuals and Non-Governmental Organizations(NGOs) have been to Ketu South to help and support the victims in the community to cope with the impact of the disaster. He however underscored the point that considering the impact of the wave on the people, these efforts and aids are not enough to cater for the people.
He was reacting on the back of the tidal wave that struck the people of Ketu South nearly a week ago and the criticism that NADMO and the government are moving at a snail pace to go to the aid of the victims of the disaster in communities like Agavedzi, Salakope, Blekusu, Adina and Amutsinu in the Volta Region.
Reacting to the question if NADMO has been in the affected areas to provide relief interventions for the people of Ketu South, he said “I understand that the morning after the incident, the team(NADMO) went there, assessed the situation, sent their reports to the regional which was also forwarded to the national. They went there with whatever limited resources like food, clothes, bedsheets and other things that they had at their disposal to them. Obviously the Member of Parliament who owed the people some level of care also went there to assist, I have seen other NGOs who have been there to assist. There are churches and other religious institutions that have obviously gone there to support but that is not enough. The people’s cry is that, whatever it is that has been provided, including what the member of parliament provided is not enough, that is true, they are not lying.
“So they need more resources to be mobilized to assist them so let’s say that things have been done but more ought to be done under the circumstance to cushion our brothers and sisters because these are royals of the land, these are people we appreciate because they are citizens of the land and they need to be protected at all times. They need to be cared for at all times and government will try to do everything humanly possible to provide them the needed assistance at all times but let’s not create the impression that nothing has been done. I mean, if what the member of parliament did was enough you wouldn’t be calling for more resources from the government, if what the district and regional NADMO did was enough, you wouldn’t be calling for national to come through, if churches and other religious bodies that are operating within that enclave have equally done was enough, if those were also enough we wouldn’t be calling for more resources”.
He went on to stress that “whatever it is we are one people, when events like this happen, what we do is that we put ourselves together and assist each other. The point is that, the tidal wave that came did not separate NDC from NPP, it did not know CPP members, it did not know whether you are from the Volta Region or whatever, all the inhabitants of the area were affected. What we ought to do as a people is to come together and provide solutions and that is what government is doing, let’s not do politics with everything.
“I would like to say that, as a country we know that our major challenge is resource constraints, that’s why I’m saying that even when the NDC initiated the project they could not raise funds and they could not pay the contractor a dime. It took the NPP government to mobilize funding and pay and did all those things. And funding is being raised for the second phase, remember the people have also been given warnings and advice to relocate from the area they are now. I know the NDC advised for relocation”.
By Barima Kwabena Yeboah|3news.com|Ghana