Former President John Dramani Mahama has described government’s response to the recent floods that washed off major roads, destroyed farms and property in the Upper West Region as a slow for an emergency situation.
He said the washing away of the major roads caused some six districts to be cut off from the regional capital, Wa, and several communities from their respective district capitals, thereby bringing economic activities and access to health care to a halt.
Former President Mahama said this when he visited victims of the disaster at Goriyiri community in the Nadowli-Kaleo District of the Upper West Region to present some relief items to affected persons to alleviate their plight.
The items included; 20 packets of roofing sheets, 50 bags of cement and 50 bags of rice.
Former President Mahama said an emergency situation of such magnitude called for swift interventions and urged the Ministry of Roads and Highways to collaborate with the Ministry of Defense to deploy the 48 Engineers Regiment to see how they could create temporary solutions to the situation.
This, he said, would enable passengers and goods to move freely while they worked on a more permanent solution to the situation.
He said people had lost property while others were homeless and encouraged government to give the resources to the National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO) to assist the affected persons.
Mr Nestor Mwinterebo, the Assembly member for the Goriyiri Electoral Area who received the items, thanked the Former President for the kind gesture, indicating that it would cushion the affected persons against their plight.
He said a good number of cultivated rice farms belonging to people in the community had been washed off by the foods, while other people including; two over 80-year old women also losing their homes and other property leaving them in total despair.
GNA