President John Dramani Mahama has presented a large consignment of relief items, led by 2,500 bags of rice, to residents of flood-affected communities in Hohoe in the Volta Region. He handed over the donation during a tour of the area, where water from the River Dai swamped low-lying settlements, most of them in Hohoe Zongo.
The items come from the Presidency, and local officials will share them among affected households through an ad hoc committee. President Mahama said he travelled to Hohoe after returning from the United Nations in New York to sympathise with the chiefs and people who suffered losses.
Volta Regional Minister James Gunu read out the full list at the event. Food led the consignment, with 2,500 bags of 25-kilogram rice, 700 bags of 50-kilogram sugar, 700 cartons of cooking oil and 200 cartons of mackerel. That rice alone comes to 62.5 tonnes. The Presidency also brought 350 relief boxes of assorted food items from MTN.
Households also received bedding and basic equipment. The consignment includes 1,250 blankets, 243 mattresses, 500 sleeping mats, 500 plastic buckets, 500 plastic basins and 500 T-shirts.
Health and hygiene supplies cover 300 malaria rapid test kits, 40 cartons of mosquito coils, 50 boxes of sanitary pads, 50 boxes of baby diapers, washing powder and soap. Standing water after a flood breeds mosquitoes, which makes the test kits and coils a practical choice.
For families whose houses were damaged, the list adds 1,000 packets of roofing sheets.
Cement, Cash and Help From Other Quarters
President Mahama said the owner of Dzata Cement, Mr Ibrahim Mahama, whom he described as his younger brother, has promised 5,000 bags of cement for people whose houses were destroyed. Hon James Gunu added that Members of Parliament have donated GH¢20,000 for the MCE and the committee overseeing the exercise.
Other state actors had already visited. President Mahama noted that the Minister for Gender, the Minister for Roads and Highways and the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) brought donations earlier.
Hohoe MP Thomas Worlanyo Tsekpo said the Gender Minister promised, on the President’s directive, that every affected household will receive cash for its upkeep from the day after the visit.
Fair Distribution Under a Local Committee
Hon James Gunu said the ad hoc committee will handle distribution. It brings together assembly members from the affected areas, traditional authorities, representatives of the Zongo chiefs, a women’s representative and a representative of the victims.
President Mahama set the principle for the exercise on the day: “We will leave it in the hands of the MP and the MCE and the Regional Minister to distribute these items fairly, so that those who are affected are the ones who will receive it.”
Hon James Gunu thanked the President for coming in person, saying, “we are seeing the passion, the commitment level.” He recalled that President Mahama was also with the region during the Akosombo and Kpong dam spillage and in the Asalakofe area.
Rebuilding Becomes the Next Test
Hon Tsekpo thanked the President but asked that rebuilding support follow the relief, so that “we help those whose homes have collapsed to rebuild so that we can reintegrate them into their various communities.”
The cement pledge and roofing sheets speak to that need. The MP gave no figure for how many homes collapsed or how many households the relief must reach, so residents will want the committee to say who received what.
President Mahama also passed on a message from his wife, Lordina, who first asked whether the flood had affected her hospital. The MP assured him it had not, and President Mahama said he could tell her so.
The consignment answers the immediate need. The test now is whether it reaches the households that lost the most, and how quickly rebuilding follows.
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