Fintey (ER) March 08 GNA- Togbe Asilevi the third, chief of Fintey in the Asuogyaman District, has urged the National Disaster Management Organization (NDAMO), to catergorise dilapidated school buildings, which are being used as classrooms as a form of disaster. Speaking at the launch of the Eastern Regional anti- bushfire campaign at Fintey at the weekend, Togbe Asilevi said lessons taught under trees constituted an impending disaster which needed to be addressed. He therefore appealed to District Authorities to take steps to pull down dilapidated structures and build new ones to provide a serene atmosphere for teaching and learning.

Togbe Asilevi said education on the various forms of disasters; their prevention and management should be included in the school curricula at all levels and at least a question on disaster should be expected by students and pupils in all their examinations.

"Musicians should be sponsored to compose interesting songs on disasters for school children to compete at annual festivals".

Togbe Asilevi also suggested an award scheme to motivate those areas which kept their environment disaster-free, especially from bush fires, in the form of free fertilizers to farmers, scholarship grants for the youth. Mr. Ransford Owusu Boakye, Eastern Regional Coordinator of NADMO, appealed to government and other stakeholders to evolve and make available to farmers modern and cost effective land clearing strategies to abate the incessant bush burning to help protect the ecosystem.

He said when that was done, NADMO could agitate for the enactment of a national fire law to make bush burning a criminal act. Mr. Boakye said it was on record that the country loses two percent of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) annually through bush-fires. "It is also on record that Ghana's forest vanishes at an annual rate of 75,000 hectares with bushfires being the leading factor". 08 March 10