The Director General of the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO), Major Retired Dr Joseph Bikanyi Kuyon, has revealed that upon his appointment, he found the warehouse devoid of any relief supplies.
Speaking on the Hot Issue programme on TV3, an Accra based television station on Sunday, Maj. Rtd. Dr Kuyon, when asked by the host about the state of the store or warehouse of NADMO when he assumed office, said, “I inherited an empty warehouse, but quickly, what I did was to talk to some of the trusted suppliers to give us some buffer stock so we can be well prepared for the disasters ahead.”
Although, he could not give reasons that had contributed to the empty warehouse he inherited, Maj. Rtd. Dr Kuyon stated that a committee had been set up by the organisation to conduct various audits, including store and transport audit, and come up with a report to explain why the warehouse was empty.
According to him, any individual who would be found culpable according to report would be dealt with in accordance with the law.
Moreover, he explained that NADMO was prepared to respond to any disaster that may occur, especially, flooding, as the country enter into the raining season, adding that there were enough relief items in its warehouse currently to be given out to those who would be affected.
Maj. Rtd. Dr Kuyon also mentioned that lack of warehouses across the regions to keep equipment that would be needed during disasters was a challenge as equipment had to be moved from the warehouse at the NADMO head office in Accra to disaster sites.
He again pointed out that some of the equipment of NADMO were kept at the National Security and, therefore, stressed the need to establish outfield NADMO warehouses that were stationed strategically across the country to enhance its operations.
Additionally, he pledged to oversee the development of a formal scheme of service under his tenure in order to help address the issue of labour turnover at the organisation due to poor condition of service.
The Director General expressed concern over the lack of legal backing that would empower NADMO to enforce practices that could have been infused into the social life of the citizenry to help prevent or mitigate disasters recorded in the country.
Also, Maj. Rtd. Dr Kuyon stated that the failure by successive governments to make sustainable the National Disaster Management Fund, which was established by the late Flight Lieutenant Jerry John Rawlings in 1996, was a challenge as NADMO had to rely on the government for financial assistance.
Moreover, he noted that a budget of GH¢10 million had been allocated to NADMO for the purchase of good and services for the year. However, he said that NADMO was given the room to request for emergency purchases.
He elaborated that NADMO did not wait for money to hit its account when the organisation requested emergency purchases but immediately contacted its trusted suppliers to bring in the goods
BY BENJAMIN ARCTON-TETTEY
