The National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) has begun a series of inspections across flood-prone communities in the Greater Accra Region as part of efforts to reduce the impact of flooding ahead of the rainy season.
The exercise forms part of the organisation’s preparedness strategy to ensure drains are properly desilted and maintained to effectively channel floodwaters, addressing the region’s persistent flooding challenges.
The inspection team is being led by NADMO’s Director-General, Joseph Bikanyi Kuyon, together with other senior officials of the organisation. Military personnel are also supporting the exercise.
Speaking to the media during the inspections, Mr Kuyon said the current initiative builds on earlier assessments conducted last year to identify major flood flashpoints in Accra. One of those assessments, he noted, was carried out with the President, John Dramani Mahama.
“This is not the first time we are coming here. Last year, we were here with the President of the country himself to have a look at flashpoints of flooding in Accra,” he said.
According to him, NADMO has since been working with multiple stakeholders to strengthen preparations before the rains begin.
Mr Kuyon stressed that the organisation’s focus is not only on responding to disasters after they occur but also on preventing them.
“I have continuously, on many platforms, said that my administration’s focus is not to react to disasters only. Disaster management is a process. It starts from working to prevent and putting ourselves in readiness, should any disaster occur. So it is a process and not just an event,” he stated.
He explained that much of NADMO’s preventive work often receives little public attention because it takes place before disasters happen.
“We’ve been working behind the scenes, which is mostly not catching the media eye because it’s not bad news. It only becomes public when the disaster strikes. But our focus is to work to ensure that disasters don’t happen,” he said.
Mr Kuyon added that NADMO’s Inspectorate and Operations Department has been collaborating closely with district authorities and local administrators to identify and address flood flashpoints, while ensuring drains are cleared to allow the free flow of water during heavy rains.
He further indicated that the inspections will be carried out periodically as the rainy season approaches.
“So it’s one of the briefings I have gotten from them that a lot has been done. But I can’t sit in my office, so I have to come around and look at all that has been done compared to what we saw last year,” he noted.
