Wednesday, January 12, 2011

REGIONAL DISASTER MANAGEMENT TEAM INAUGURATED (PAGE 35, JAN 13, 2011)

AN eleven-member committee for disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation has been inaugurated in Koforidua.
The committee, which draws its membership from various organisations such as the Ghana National Fire Service, Ghana Police Service, the assemblies, traditional rulers and the Ghana Health Service, is under the chairmanship of the Oyokohene, Nana Kodua Kese.
It is to identify all potential disaster risks in the region such as bush/domestic fires, rainstorms and floods, pests and pests control, overgrazing, deforestation and bad farming practices, among others, and come up with workable programmes and policies to reduce associated risks.
A number of dignitaries, including the outgoing Eastern Regional Minister, Mr Samuel Ofosu Ampofo, and a Member of the Council of State, Nana Owusu Gyamadu, who is also the chief of Akyem Anyinase, near Oda, attended the ceremony.
Addressing the participants, the Regional Co-ordinator of the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO), Mr Ransford Owusu Boakye, stressed the need to equip NADMO and its collaborating agencies to carry out its mandated duties effectively.
He stated that disaster prevention should not be seen as the responsibility of NADMO alone, but all members of society.
Mr Owusu Boakye called for a second look at the law regarding the issuance of building permits for stiffer penalties to be imposed on developers who build on watercourses and other unauthorised areas.
According to him, that would deter others from doing so and serve as a measure of preventing flooding.
“The country needs stiffer penalties to deal with developers who construct buildings on watercourses and other unauthorised places because such buildings block the flow of rivers and streams, causing devastating floods with the attendant loss of lives and property,” Mr Owusu  Boakye said.
The Deputy National Co-ordinator of NADMO, Mr Ebenezer Dosoo, who read the address of Mr Kofi Portuphy, the National Co-ordinator of the organisation, dwelt on measures the country had taken to deal with disasters and climate change.
He urged the committee to exploit avenues for resource mobilisation for disaster preparedness and response.
Earlier, Mr Ofosu Ampofo, who inaugurated the committee, elaborated on the negative effects of disasters and said since the government alone could not address the issue, there was the need for government-private sector co-ordination in that respect.
Mr Ofosu Ampofo was hopeful that the committee would live up to expectation.

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