Down memory lane: Winning half the battle
Earlier this week, Kofi Portuphy, National Coordinator of the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO), was reported to have reiterated his proposal for the establishment of a National Disaster Fund. Such a facility is “necessary and urgent” he said, and will speed up and expand provision of critical assistance to victims during emergencies.
Advertisement
He is also calling for the amendment of Act 517 by which NADMO was set up in 1996, to make the organisation better equipped to deal with current disasters and emergencies.
Mr Portuphy’s appeal reminded me of the following Native Daughter piece published on Saturday, September 3, 1983:
I’m entirely in agreement with the thinking of whoever initiated the “committee to promote the study, prevention and control of natural disasters” at the Sekondi Naval Base (Daily Graphic August 26). It is an example other regions should follow, in my view. More important, it should be a cue for the government to consider setting up a permanent national body to deal with disasters.
Task forces and ad hoc groups are fine but the recent experiences tell us that we need a permanent body that can give directives in the event of any national disaster occurring.
Although we must consider ourselves considerably luckier than many countries as far as natural tragedies are concerned, we’re not wholly immune from catastrophes as we have come unhappily to realise. The Konkomba-Nanumba trouble and the bush fires are examples we can all remember.
Currently, there are two dangers threatening us but they seem to have been overshadowed by our more immediate problems, like the returnees from Nigeria and the food shortage. One of the threats is the earthquake that some experts have predicted we should expect, and the other is the failure of the northern and Sahelian rains worsening the recession of the Volta Lake level and hence endangering our electricity supply.
The rains have been unreliable for some years, and since we have no means immediately to make rain it is clear that we need to prepare for any eventuality. The Volta River Authority and the Electricity Corporation tried one measure a couple of months ago, the launching of an energy conservation programme, but that seems to have petered out.
Enquiries last week revealed that the Volta Lake has receded to about 239 feet. The minimum operational level is 248 feet (above sea level) and any level below that can lead to electricity cuts in some areas of the country.
I shudder to think what will happen if the rains don’t come, or if it doesn’t rain enough to raise the water level. Is it not possible that we will wake up one day to find we have no power in half of the country – or worse?
The probability of Ghana experiencing a major earthquake has been mentioned by the experts in recent times, and therefore this is another danger against which we must prepare.
I don’t want to sound like a prophet of doom but since we have had earthquakes before we should pay attention to talk of a recurrence. At least it will do no harm to have contingency plans on what should be done by the government if it should happen.
The country faces many problems and we should perhaps pay more attention to immediate needs, but if the government can at least set up permanent committees in the regions who will know what to do, and what kind of public education is needed, it will be half the battle won.
One does not wish to invite a death in the family by buying mourning cloth, but at the same time one must prepare for the eventuality.
Summary of the creation of NADMO from its website:
In the 1980s, it was observed that the number of disasters and their impacts were increasing worldwide. This situation alarmed the United Nations Organisation which held various conferences on the issue, leading to the UN declaring 1990-1999 as the International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction (IDNDR).
The IDNDR was to increase the awareness of the need for disaster prevention and encourage member states to establish agencies to manage disasters. The Yokohama Strategy for a ‘safer world’ and Plan of Action for the second half of the Decade was introduced to place a greater emphasis on public awareness of issues facing vulnerable communities.
In response to this declaration, Ghana created NADMO by Act 517 of 1996 to manage disasters and similar emergencies.