Officials at the Western Regional Directorate of the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) are urgently calling for major rehabilitation works on their office building, citing serious structural defects that pose a threat to their safety and hinder effective operations.
Despite being tasked with managing disasters, the Regional NADMO office itself is battling a disaster of its own in waiting.
The building housing the Directorate is riddled with deep cracks, a collapsing ceiling and offices that floods whenever it rains.
Staff say the unsafe conditions have disrupted work and endangered their lives, with snakes and other reptiles frequently entering the building.
Beyond the crumbling structure, the office is severely under resourced, with most of its equipment outdated.
“We don’t have working computers, we lack equipment to work, and our system are all outdated and it is impeding our works…even sending memos and printing of letters is a problem” a staff bemoaned.
With the deteriorating state of the office Daniel Darlington Atitso the newly appointed NADMO director, bemoaned the wanton disregard for maintaining of state property.
“This isn’t just a maintenance issue, it’s a failure to protect the very institution meant to protect others….We must fix this urgently. My priority is to secure resources and restore this office to a level that meets the demands of disaster management in this region,” he said.
He pledged to work closely with the national headquarters and relevant stakeholders to push for immediate rehabilitation works and retooling of the office.
