Friday, October 31, 2008

VRA DONATES TO DISASTER VICTIMS (PAGE 20)

THE Volta River Authority (VRA) has donated a cheque for GH¢10,000 to alleviate the suffering of disaster victims in northern Ghana.
It is also envisaged that the gesture would help rehabilitate the victims, most of whom had lost their means of livelihood through the floods that occurred during the latter part of last year.
The Director in charge of Special Duties of the VRA, Mr Kofi Asante, who made the presentation in Tamale, expressed his outfit’s determination to partner the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) and other institutions in managing flood situations in the three northern regions.
“We also want to demonstrate that we care for the communities that suffer from disasters,” the director stated.
He called for long-term strategic framework, including intensive public education campaigns to minimise the effects of floods.
Mr Asante stressed the need for the development of early warning mechanisms as a strategy to curb the devastating effects of floods.
According to him, the VRA and its counterpart in Burkina Faso, Sonabel, had evolved a long-term strategy to exchange information and intelligence on the rainfall pattern and its impact on the water level in dams.
Mr Asante observed that the effects of the spillage of the Bagre Dam in Burkina Faso had not been devastating on communities in the north this year because of early warning mechanisms and the intensive public education on the exercise in communities in flood-prone communities.
Earlier on, the director led a seven-member delegation from the VRA, including the Northern Area Manager of the Northern Electrification Department (NED), Mr Bukari Danladi, to call on the Northern Regional Minister, Alhaji Mustapha Ali Idris.
Alhaji Idris who received the cheque on behalf of the beneficiaries, thanked the company for the gesture.
He commended the VRA for taking keen interest in ameliorating the suffering of the victims, and urged other public-spirited individuals and organisations to emulate the gesture.

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