The Assemblyman for Ketu South Constituency, Mawufemor Kofi Folivi, has accused that an officer in charge of the National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO) office in the constituency, Paul Alosode, of hoarding some relief items that are meant for the flood victims in the area.
According to him, the decision by the NADMO officer was allegedly triggered by the fact that other organisations had donated items directly to community leaders without involving the NADMO office.
In a phone interview with GhanaWeb, the Assemblyman indicated that the NADMO officer, Paul Alosode had reportedly decided to withhold the aid as a form of punishment.
The Assemblyman, Kofi Folivi, explained that when the flooding crisis began, some relief items were brought to the NADMO office, but not all the affected individuals received assistance.
When he confronted the NADMO officer about this issue, the officer explained that the initial items were insufficient, and he intended to distribute more when additional relief supplies arrived.
However, Ghana Gas Company Limited and the Member of Parliament in the area, delivered additional aid. He [Assemblyman] suggested merging these new items with the existing ones at the NADMO office to provide relief to everyone in the affected communities.
But , the NADMO officer, Alosode refused to do so, stating that since the donations from Ghana Gas and the Member of Parliament (MP) had not passed through his office, he could not allocate them.
“His claim is that they were supposed to pass the items through his office and once they didn't do that, those of us who received the times, he said he is punishing us. He read to me the things he wanted to give me at the time he called me. Those were 10 plastic bowls, 10 pieces of rubber cups for two communities. Also , there are some wellenting boots for the Sukoladzi community and some for the Zongo community as well. Those were the same items I went back to him to ask for, I didn't request any other things from him,” the assemblyman stated.
The Assemblyman for the Ketu South Constituency, also expressed his frustration over this decision, emphasising that the NADMO office was the intended source of the relief items, and their distribution of the items in their custody would have complemented the aid provided by other organisations.
He explained that he tried to involve the Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) in the area, however, the MCE indicated that he was unsure how to resolve the matter.
“This is something that was supposed to come from your office, and is it my fault the MP and Ghana Gas came to donate the affected people. Even though what they brought were not enough, if you added the ones that the NADMO office was supposed to give us, it would have complimented whatever we are doing and people would have felt a bit relieved. He said no, I can't decide for him what he should do.
“I called the MCE [Maxwell Kopelugudor] and told him that this is what the NADMO officer is doing, he also told me he doesn't know how to deal with the issue now but he will give him a call and get back to me. I tried reaching out to the MCE for an update on the issue but he didn't pick my calls,” he added.
He continued “If your office is supposed to help and you are refusing to do that and other people are helping, it is necessary that they pass it through you, is it for you to keep them?” he asked.
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File photo: An officer from NADMO supervising the distribution of some relief items