….For Akosombo Dam spillage victims
The management of Citi FM and Citi TV on Wednesday, started the construction of a resettlement centre in Ada, for persons affected by the Akosombo Dam Spillage.
The facility, which will provide shelter for about 200 victims of the spillage, will be located close to the Ada East District Assembly in the Greater Accra Region.
Before the groundbreaking ceremony at the Ada East District Assembly on Wednesday, November 1, 2023, Bernard Avle, the General Manager of Citi FM/TV, stated that the facility to be completed within a month will be transformed into a skills training facility, once it fulfills its purpose.
Citi FM and Citi TV, have already started constructing a similar resettlement centre in Torkpo in the Shai Osudoku District of the Greater Accra Region, thanks to the generous support of their listeners and viewers.
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The day, also saw the company sending loads of relief items to parts of the Volta Region inundated by the water from the Akosombo Dam spillage.
The items which were loaded onto huge trailers and trucks, included mattresses, sacks of rice, sugar, milk, canned fish, wheelchairs, biscuits, bread, cooking utensils, tubers of yam, gas cookers, drinking water, clothes, and building materials among others.
Residents of Anyako in the Keta Municipality, Galo and Sota in the Anlo District, Blekusu and Agbozume in the Ketu South District, were seen beaming with smiles at the sight of the items. They had waited for hours to get their share.
Most of them had complained about hunger, homelessness and lack of clothes, and were extremely excited at the gesture from the Citi FM and Citi TV team.
While, some residents sang in praise of the company, others praised incessantly asking God to bless the company for taking their welfare into account and mobilising the items for them and ensuring that they were delivered.
According to Mr Avle, “Beyond providing relief, we realized that we needed to provide something substantive because we noticed in reports that there are humanitarian challenges where people’s houses have been overrun, and they are sleeping outside, which is not good at all”.
In this regard, the General Manager of Citi FM/TV said “…management decided that, beyond providing relief items, we will collaborate with local authorities to establish temporary resettlement structures because it is a humanitarian challenge, and it’s not business as usual. So what we are trying to establish are structures that can house people who have been displaced temporarily…so it will be easier to relocate the people there.”
He explained “For sustainability purposes, we don’t want to build a structure, house someone for three months, and have it become a white elephant. So, in consultation with the assembly, the resettlement centre will be converted into a skills training centre to help those who have suffered from the effects of the flooding.”
Sarah Dugbakie Pobee, the District Chief Executive of Ada East, who received the Citi FM/TV team, reaffirmed the district’s commitment to ensuring the timely completion of the project and its proper maintenance.
“We assure you that monitoring and evaluation will be conducted rigorously, and I will ensure that for every project we undertake, we instil a culture of maintenance to ensure the project’s sustainability.”
The company is still mobilizing items and has asked well-wishers to join the Citi FM/TV Relief Support Campaign for those affected by the Akosombo Dam spillage, saying “Every donation, big or small, matters”.
“Contribute today via Mobile Money to 0550900006, or through citinewsroom.com/voltarelief/ using your debit or credit card”.
