Accra, March, GNA - Mr Henry Kamel, NDC-Buem, on Thursday urged the Government to give more resource to agencies managing disasters in the country to ensure their prompt and efficient operation. He said the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) had became a specialist in distributing blankets and other relief items to disaster victims instead of being proactive in efficiently handling disasters around the country. The Member was contributing to a statement in Parliament on the recent rainstorm in Bimbilla, which led to the destruction of property and the displacement of people in the area. Mr Kamel said it was very necessary for the country to prepare adequately for disasters by sinking enough resources into institutions such as NADMO.

Mr Mohammed Ibn Abass, NDC-Bimbilla, who made the statement, said the March 3, rainstorm which hit Bimbilla, led to the destruction of 300 houses, 17 schools and other buildings. He said a number of educational materials have been destroyed leading to the disruption of academic work in some schools. Mr Abass called for urgent intervention from various ministries and said NADMO had completed its preliminary assessment of the damage caused. "I hope that in sending relief to the people, NADMO would as much as possible resist any political interference that would have the tendency of discriminating between beneficiaries on the basis of their political colouration," he said.

Captain Nkrabeah Effah Dartey, (rtd), Deputy Minister of The Interior, in his contributions, urged the district assemblies to set aside some monies out of their budgets for reconstruction purposes to enable them to respond promptly to emergencies. He said it was also important for developers to stick to the rules and regulations when putting up structures to ensure that buildings constructed would be able to withstand the havoc caused by such rainstorms. He pledged Government's support for the people of Bimbilla.