NADMO funds are used to treat debt, not disasters

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The National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO) revealed that debt was hampering its ability to help in the event of natural disasters.

The Director General, Eric Nana Agyemang Prempeh, told the Parliamentary Committee of the Public Accounts Committee that he had found that the organization had a debt of 34 million euros. He must also face 28 lawsuits, he added.

Photo: NADMO Executive Director Appears Before the Parliamentary Committee on Public Accounts

NADMO recounted its problems while dozens of people are grappling with the devastating effects of the rainy season reinforced by climate change.

Seven people lost their lives on Sunday after four hours of rain. Of the seven bodies, four bodies were found in floodwaters in Adjei-Kojo, a suburb of Accra.

The deaths occur exactly one week after five more people died after another shower on Sunday. Fatalities were a woman and her child, two men and another electrocuted.

Last year, Myjoyonline announced that Kpeshie Lagoon had swallowed the vehicle of Aya Hayfron, a doctor who had tried to cross the drain on a rainy Monday night. She was found dead the next morning.

The rains, in spite of the known seasons of its fall, constantly expose the infrastructures of the country, the construction of the culture and the management of the waste.

NADMO adds that the sums released by the Ministry of Finance are used to pay debts. "Right now, we have not been able to buy relief items this year," he told MPs.

Relief was lacking after the inter-ethnic violence that left more than 1,000 displaced people in Chereponi, in the north-eastern region, in March. Disaster victims need basic supplies, clean water and shelter.

The head of NADMO has asked the committee to lobby the Ministry of Finance to release more funds. Interior Minister Ambrose Derry has confirmed the fate of NADMO.

"I will work with the Ministry of Finance to see what support we can get for NADMO … in these difficult times," he said.