Government has presented GH�500 each to relatives of the seven people who met their untimely deaths in the recent heavy downpour which struck parts of the capital city and destroyed properties running into several millions.
Aside this token to support the bereaved families in their preparations towards burying the deceased, every family is to collect 10 mini-bags of rice and five cartons of cooking oil from the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO�s) offices at Kaokudi in Accra.
The presentation was done on behalf of government by the Minister for the Interior, Hon. Cletus Avoka, at his outfit last Friday. He also doubles as Chairman of the National Disaster Management Committee. Also in attendance were his Deputy, Dr. Appiah Kubi, AMA Chief Executive, Mr. Alfred Vanderpuije, Mr. Kofi Portuphy, NADMO Co-ordinator and others. It could be recalled that on Friday June 19 this year, parts of Accra experienced heavy rains, leading to the sudden demise of seven adults and a minor, as well as the destruction of other personal belongings.
The departed souls included a four-year-old Fenyi Lian, Sahaadatu Ibrahim, 21, Paul Agbemuyebor, 28, Blemya Yalley, 30, one Pastor Isaac Oppong-Kusi, aged 36, Mary Essien, 67 and an 80-year-old Victor Amukwe Tetteh. Sympathising with the bereaved families, Hon. Avoka emphasised that the gesture should not be seen as compensation package but fulfilment of government�s promise to cushion the various families.
For him, the problem could have been avoided, provided Ghanaians took sanitation and the environment seriously, pointing out that such impulse spending by government could be channelled to other developmental projects. The Minister, however, appealed to the general public to live as responsible citizens by ensuring that they stopped the habit of building on water ways, dumping of refuse in gutters and all other human factor which creates havoc during heavy downpours.
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