By James Amoh Jnr.
Accra, Nov. 30, GNA – The Ghana Grid Company Limited (GRIDCo) has donated assorted relief items to victims of the Akosombo Dam spillage upstream in the Oti Region.
The essential items valued at a cost of GH₵300,000 will ameliorate the plights of the displaced victims in the Kete Krachi District.
The items include: 110 bags of rice, 150 boxes of tomatoes, 110 boxes of oil, 45 boxes of mackerel, 45 boxes of sardine, 500 sachet water.
The rest are 60 boxes of carbolic soap, 40 boxes of washing soap, 10 boxes of antiseptic, 120 bags of toilet rolls, 300 mosquito nets, 170 boxes of sanitary pads and two large water tanks for the provision of water to the victims.
The donation forms part of the company’s Corporate Social Responsibility to provide some respite to the communities that are still grappling with the aftermath of the destructive floods.
The presentation was made to the Volta River Authority through the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) in Accra, for onward distribution to the affected communities in the Keta Krachi District by GRIDCo.
Mr Samuel Kwo Acquah Jnr., Director, Office of the Chief Executive of GRIDCo, who made the donation, in the company of Ms. Florence Adjei, Director, Human Resource and General Services said, the gesture was in support of their sister utility company, the VRA.
He said, as a corporate entity, it behoved on the company to reach out to the victims of the spillage and empathise with them in their troubled times.
“GRIDCo deems it necessary to support the national course,” he said
Thousands have been displaced and adversely affected by heavy flooding resulting from spillage of excess water from the Akosombo and the Kpong Hydeo-electruc Dams.
The displaced are sheltering in make shift shelters in camps as their homes and livelihoods have been destroyed.
Mr Eric Nana Agyeman-Prempeh, Director General, NADMO who received the items symbolically in Accra on behalf of Government and the Inter-Ministerial Committee, expressed appreciation to GRIDCo for responding to the national call for individuals and organisations to support the affected victims.
He said for the past weeks, the nation had been battling with flood disasters in the country with the overflow of the Black Volta and the White Volta as a result of heavy rains in the north and south resulting from the Akosombo Dam spillage.
Six regions, he noted, were affected, but attention was being paid to parts of Greater Accra, Volta, and the Eastern Region at the downstream.
He said, “The people at the top too have been affected a lot. I am happy that GRIDCo has come to their aid, and they have chosen to send their items to the upstream, and it is in good direction. “
The Director General said only the affected victims of the floods would get the relief items.
According to him, the water had not entirely receded in some parts as many persons remained displaced because their houses were still in flood waters.
Mr Agyeman-Prempeh said, as part of their disaster management efforts in the affected communities before residents returned, fumigation was being done while the water systems were being critically monitored as they were contaminated among others.
The NADMO Director General urged individuals and organisations to come to aid of affected communities to augment the Government’s efforts to provide relief support to the victims.
The Government has budgeted GH¢220 million to support the relief phase for the communities affected by the Akosombo spillage as well as floods upstream in the Oti, Savannah, and Bono-East Regions.
GNA