The National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) has suspended its Upper West Regional Stores Manager, Ali Sulemana, indefinitely after expired food items were distributed to flood victims in the region at the weekend.
The NADMO Upper West Regional Coordinator, Seidu Issahaku Sulemana, has also been queried over the incident.
A three-member committee has also been instituted to investigate the facts about the incident that appears to have embarrassed Vice-President Mahamudu Bawumia, who visited the region to release the items to the affected communities and individuals.
The committee is expected to submit its report within 14 days.
Mr Eric Nana Agyemang-Prempeh, the Director-General of NADMO, who announced the suspension at a news briefing in Wa yesterday, said further necessary actions would emanate from the report of the investigative committee.
Mr Agyemang-Prempeh led a team of officials of the organisation to the region in the wake of news that some items among relief materials distributed to flood victims had turned out to be expired products.
While conceding that some expired items, particularly cooking oil, were, indeed, in the stores of NADMO in the region, Mr Agyemang-Prempeh said “those that unfortunately were mixed with the distributed items were few”.
He apologised for the error, but stressed that anyone found to have compromised standards and procedures would be dealt with.
He denied that the rice distributed by the organisation to the flood victims had expired and said although there were no expiry date on the 25kg bags, the 5kg contents were embossed with the appropriate expiry dates.
He said none of the items distributed to people in the Upper East and Northern regions had been reported to have expired.
Mr Sulemana has become the first casualty of a potential tsunami waiting to happen within the organisation.
Indeed, there are fears that a few heads could roll for the embarrassment caused the Vice-President through the distribution of expired food items to the flood victims.
But although the regional coordinator remains at post, his query is viewed by watchers as a precursor to an expected job loss.
Background
Dr Bawumia, on September 22, 2018, travelled to the region to distribute relief items to flood victims in the Wa and Sissala municipalities but some of the items were found to be expired products.
NDC press conference
The opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) demanded the removal of the Upper West Regional Coordinator of NADMO, Mr Seidu Issahaku Sulemana, at a news conference last Tuesday, but the potential damage may go beyond the regional office.
The Upper West Regional Communications Officer of the NDC, Mr Prosper Puo-ire, accused the government of insensitivity by inflicting more pain on persons already devastated by floods.
“We are yet to come to terms with why our Vice-President will choose to exacerbate the suffering of our people by exposing them to unquantifiable health challenges at a time they are grappling with pulling the pieces of their lives together after suffering a disaster,” Mr Puo-ire said.
NADMO statement
In a statement issued last Tuesday, NADMO admitted the presence of some expired food items among the distributed list but claimed they were only six bottles of cooking oil.
Source: Daily Graphic
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Some workers at NADMO must be sacked. This organisation is full of NDC footsoldiers. This unfortunate incident was a deliberate ploy by the NDC to tarnish the image of the vice president. Is it not amazing that within a relative brief period the NDC held a press conference to announce this incident. Why is the NDC so scared of the vice president. It seems to me that the NDC's return to power hinges on defaming the vice president. Dr Bawumiah is already a genius and there is nothing the NDC can do about that. The on-going negative campaign against the vice president is much ado about nothing because the world knows his capabilities in economic management. Hopefully, by the end of the first term of Nana Addo's tenure, we will have a positively transformed Ghana. There will be abundant meat on the bone.
if not for cheap propaganda for a vice president to share 5kilos of rice and litre of angwa, this thing will have been managed. see how that office have been cheapened.
See Why, who are bringing the ndc to power? ndc has never won any election free and fair in Ghana and who told you with what Ghanaians saw in mahama's government, ndc will ever come back to power? over the dead bodies of Ghanaians. You think we've forgotten the create l000t and share, the nkomfem fly away to Burkina , the bus branding and Helicopter in a chamber pot? you people are joking! Ghanaians will be the most st*pid people on this planet if they ever brig back ndc to power! CHAI !!!!! APUUUUUU!
We told you people to sack all ndc appointees you meet at all sectors because they are saboteurs now you see how they meant to disgrace the Vice President their number one enemy, they think the 5 Akan regions were f000**00ls who could retain their create loot and share, nkomfem fly away to Burkina, bus branding, Helicopter over priced, yawe enam no amaaka dompe! they think the Gonja king Kong was smarter than everyone in Ghana so could use Ghanaians and Dr Bawumiah the Vice President of Ghana prevented them from being in power so they've directed their members in all sectors to sabotage. It is about time the President listen to us Ghanaians who are demanding the sack of these nation wreckers, anti-Ghana elements for Ghana to move forward. SACK ALL NATION WRECKERS IN GOVERNMENT DEPARTMENTS!
shot the sheriff and not his deputy
Are you @ Alhassan , in anyway suggesting that when NDC also comes they should kick you out of where you are currently employed because you are npp ? that is not the way forward . There was no due diligence . NADMO as an organization is uselesss . You cannot really understand their constitutional mandate . We need to make them part of a ministry . They cant operate independently . NADMO should be merged with a suitable ministry under a sector minister otherwise they are a waste of taxpayers money
I think all these people creating the unfavourable public image for this government are the NDC operatives working in these government organisations This is a well orchestrated plan by the NDC operatives within the Upper West NADMO, otherwise how could it be that within hours of these distributions then it emerged that expired goods have been distributed to the flood victims. Mr. President a second look of your style of governance must be relooked at otherwise NDC will run this country from opposition and creating this bad public image every time