Chief commends government ....

..and donor agencies for flood assistance Arigu (N/R), Oct. 27, GNA - A Chief in the Northern Region has commended the Government and donor agencies for the timely intervention and assistance to persons affected by floods in the three Northern Regions. He said the flood disaster had reminded the three regions of the 1983 drought and the hunger that followed and appealed to the government, NGOs, individuals and donor agencies not to relent in their efforts at helping to restore hope in the affected areas. Arigu-Rana, Naba Kanzani Bukari Asabgi, Paramount chief of Arigu Traditional Area in the West Mamprusi District gave the commendation when officials of Northern Ghana Aid (NOGAID) a Tamale NGO paid a courtesy call on him at Arigu. The NGO is exploring the "Overseas" areas of the Northern Region to assess the extent of damage caused by the floods to see what type of assistance to give to the affected persons. Naba Asabgi said most of the communities in the Traditional Area have not yet had any form of assistance due to the appalling nature of the road and appealed to officials of the National Disaster Manager Organisation (NADMO) and the District Assembly to ensure equitable distribution of relief items. He said "the entire community was now leaving at the mercy of donor assistance because, "after the prolonged drought, heavy rains set in. After the rains we planted maize, groundnuts and water melon but 'army worms' invaded our farms and destroyed everything." Mr. Mustapha Sanah, Executive Director of NOGAID said his outfit together with Doctors World Wide, a British NGO and Deniz Feneri, a Turkish NGO were collaborating to see how best they could send enough aid to the most deprived areas in the Northern Region. 27 Oct. 07