NADMO prepare to face challenges (Page 30)

(April 7, 2009)

THE National Co-ordinator of the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO), Mr Kofi Portuphy, has given the assurance that personnel of the organisation are poised to make Accra a disaster-free city.
To achieve that objective, the NADMO Co-ordinator said, the personnel would embark on various training programmes to prepare them adequately for any eventuality.
As part of such training programmes, Mr Portuphy said, some of the personnel are currently being trained at the military training school at Shai Hills in the Greater Accra Region after which they were expected to train their colleagues.
Addressing journalists at press a conference in Accra last Thursday, Mr Portuphy said his outfit would also intensify public education programmes to get the entire populace to support their efforts since they were considered a major stakeholder.
He took the opportunity to advise residents of Accra to change their attitude and avoid indulging in activities which could cause flooding and fires which usually created untold hardship.
He said it was unfortunate to see people pretend not to see and go ahead to put up mighty buildings in water ways only to create problems for themselves and others during rainy seasons.
Mr Portuphy observed that if it became necessary for one to build in a flood prone area, the person could save society the trouble if he or she built on pillars (stilts) above the ground to allow for easy flow of water instead of building on the ground to prevent the free flow of water.
Citing a case to support his argument, he said at Nzulezu in the Western Region, people live on water but have never encountered any flooding because they build on pillars above the river.
Mr Portuphy also condemned the practice whereby some residents disposed of refuse into drains, a situation he said was a major cause of flooding in Accra.
He also touched on a recent development where some property owners for fear of armed robbers fortified their buildings to the extent that they got trapped when there were fire outbreaks and advised property owners to consult experts on such matters.
In response to a question, Mr Portuphy said it would be ideal to have covered drains throughout the country but that could be effective only after the nation had acquired the necessary equipment to be used in cutting into the concrete covers when such drains got silted with sand and other objects which might find their way into the drains.
Sharing his experience with this journalist, he said during a recent tour of the city, he observed that such places as the Kaneshie, Odorkor and Mateheko police stations which had been earmarked as safe havens in times of disaster had been occupied with accident vehicles, a situation he described as worrying.
To assist the NADMO to perform its duties satisfactorily, Mr Portuphy advised residents to learn to protect the environment to ensure a safe city for everybody.