Exercise Caution in Use of Fire Ahead of New Farming Season – President Akufo-Addo Urges Farmers
President Akufo-Addo has made a passionate appeal to farmers across the country to exercise caution in the use of fire to prepare their lands ahead of the farming season which is in the offing.
The President made the call when he addressed a brief ceremony at the forecourt of the headquarters of National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO), to commission forty (40) brand new vehicles to equip the organization to be more prepared to fight disasters in the country.
As we prepare to exit the dry season and welcome the raining season one of the major concerns we have grappled with over the years has to do with slashing and burning of bushes as farmers prepare their lands for planting. I appeal to our farmers in all parts of our country to exercise the utmost caution in the process of preparing their lands for the farming season especially in the use of fire, President Akufo-Addo said.
Prepare for Raining Season
Touching on the upcoming raining season in the country, President Akufo-Addo noted that while it is obvious that it will come with its attendant challenges, NADMO must position itself to mitigate the impact that these challenges are likely to have on the citizenry.
The raining season with its associated storms will also bring its own challenges and I urge NADMO to be prepared with the required relief items and come to the aid of persons in need and to those affected – President Akufo-Addo stated.
National Disaster Management Committee
Towards creating an effective NADMO, President Akufo-Addo indicated that his administration will, in compliance with the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) Act, 2016 (Act 972), inaugurate the National Disaster Management Committee to superintend over government’s efforts at managing disaster emergencies and the realization of other functions as stipulated in the Act.
Government is undertaking all of these measures and making these investments because disaster prevention and mitigation are directly linked to the sustainable development of any nation – President Akufo-Addo added.
NADMO Fleet Augmented
President Akufo-Addo presented a total of forty (40) brand new vehicles to NADMO. The vehicles included one (1) Toyota Landcruiser, one (1) Toyota Camry, one (1) Toyota ambulance, one (1) Mercedes Benz ambulance, one (1) payloader, five (5) Toyota Landcruiser Prados, and thirty (30) Toyota Hilux pick-ups.
President Akufo-Addo further indicated that his administration in the course of next month (April), will present an additional thirty-two (32) pick-ups to NADMO to augment further the fleet of the organization.
History of NADMO
Before the 1990’s, disaster management, across the world, was found to be haphazard and uncoordinated. In the 1980’s and 1990’s, increasing impacts of disasters all over the world dawned on the United Nations (UN) the need for established disaster managemnent organisations to ensure that emergency response was more effective.
The UN, therefore, recommended to member states to establish disaster management organisations. In response to the global demand and the emerging realities, Parliament passed Act 517 in 1996 to establish NADMO in Ghana.
Later on, the introduction of the International Strategy for Disaster Risk Reduction and the subsequent release of the Hyogo Framework for Action brought out the weakness that Act 517 was more reactive than proactive.
Moreover certain inherent gaps such as absence of a robust governing council, enforcement powers, operational deficiencies, and financial difficulties gave enough signal for the Act to be revisited. Consequently, Act 927 was passed to give more life to disaster management operations in the country. The vision of the Organisation is to “Build a Disaster Resilient Ghana”.
Source: Wilberforce A. Asare
Comments are closed.