Hon. Banya Commends the President for Creating NDMA, Acknowledges its Strides in Managing Disasters in Sierra Leone
The Hon. Member of Parliament of Constituency 004 in Kailahun District, Hon. Sartie Banya has commended President Julius Maada Bio for creating the National Disaster Management Agency and acknowledged the positive impact its operations has had on disaster victims across the country.
The Honorable made these statements on Thursday 26th May, 2022 at the Chamber of Parliament during the debate on the Presidential Address on the Occasion of the State Opening of the Fifth Session of the Fifth Parliament of the Second Republic of Sierra Leone at the Chamber of Parliament in Freetown, Tuesday, 10th May 2022.
“I want to thank the President for coming up with a very brilliant idea to Parliament by separating the Office of National Security (ONS) from that of the National Disaster Management Agency (NDMA). Since the formation, we have seen a lot of intervention undertaking by the Agency especially in my own district”. Expressed Hon. Sartie.
As he dive into some of the functions and operations of the National Disaster Management Agency (NDMA) especially in the areas of Mitigation, Risk Reduction & Preparedness, Research, Monitoring & Evaluation, Response and Recovery; the Honourable member of Parliament stated that one of the most important thing being done by the Agency is to adequately address issues of disaster and other related emergencies especially to the victims. “Just within Kailahun District, when there was an issue of flooding in Segbwema, fire incident in Kono and Kailahun Towns. I vividly saw a team of Disaster Management personnel distributing bundles of zinc, non-food and food items to the victims. He emphasized.
Whilst speaking on the transparent and accountable nature of the NDMA’s Relief & Response Process, Hon. Sartie explained how stakeholders as well as Members of Parliaments of the affected areas and the press are being engaged in the process.
“If we can all remember since 2014 when we had the mudslide, the number one person of this country at that time acted as everything. Receiving monies from donors and disbursing monies by himself without even being accountable to the victims at that time. Up to this moment, the victims are still suffering because of such event. But the current President being very much passionate to the people of this country, he was able to set up a special team to address issues like this. So I want to thank the leadership of the NDMA for exhibiting high level of transparency in the cause of their work.”
Concluding, he called on government to address the mobility and logistic aspect of staff of the agency as they are often seen using their private vehicles to undertake official duties.
For More Enquiries:
Directorate of Communications
National Disaster Management Agency
Contact: +23278388946
Email: mohamedlbah@ndma.gov.sl
