Mohammed Muntaka Mubarak, the Interior Minister, has begged Ghanaians on behalf of the government following the devastating floods that claimed the lives of Ghanaians, destroying homes and properties.
The Interior Minister admitted that the government could have done more but stressed that officials had been working through the night as the crisis unfolded.
According to Mohammed Muntaka Mubarak, although there were warnings that June and July would bring heavy rains, he noted that Monday’s downpour only came late on Sunday night.
Speaking on JoyNews’ PM Express, Mohammed Muntaka Mubarak stated, “Yes, we are really very sorry for the loss of life. We are sorry that this thing has really devastated Accra”.
“But if you ask the Meteo person, he did not say that it’s going to rain today. Ask him, when did they give us the actual alert that this will happen? Yesterday (Sunday, June 28), at 11 pm when the majority of Ghanaians were asleep,” he said.
He further disclosed that he reached out to the Minister for Communications to get emergency messages sent to mobile phone users.
“I called him, I said that look, you need to help us, can you get the telcos to send messages to people? He was very swift. I believe that is the thing that we need to be doing,” he said, thanking Sam George for the prompt response.
“I’ve spoken to the Secretary to the President. We’ve agreed that as the Secretary to the President, he will be able to pull all of us as ministers together to come and sit down and make sure that we prepare ourselves.”
“This country is not a rich country, where we have shelters so we can collect people and go and put them there. This country is not that rich. Let’s not be running away from actual responsibility and facing the reality.”
He also rejected suggestions that government officials had been complacent.
Muntaka added, “So, yes, I agree, we could do more, but let’s not make it look like all politicians are people who are not thinking about the country. They are just thinking about themselves. They put them in positions; they are not proactive.”
“I can bet you, we didn’t sleep; I didn’t sleep, and I know the time that I had to speak to the President early in the morning. I woke him up, and he’s been up and asking questions almost throughout, and he went around to see so.”
“The only way this rain today could have been avoided from going into people’s homes was to lump the whole of Accra as a drain, because you can see it from the aerial view,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) has disclosed that its personnel rescued more than 470 people after responding to dozens of emergency incidents.
The GNFS disclosed that its firefighters and rescue teams remained on high alert from Sunday, June 28, to Tuesday, June 30, as they responded to multiple fire outbreaks, flood emergencies, rescue operations and a building collapse.
GNFS disclosed that, in collaboration with other emergency response agencies, it resulted in the rescue or safe evacuation of 479 people, with five lives lost, one person sustained injuries, and another remains missing.
@ghnow_ This is the current situation at the Christian Village bridge. Kindly be advised. #GHNow #fyp ♬ original sound – GHnow
@ghnow_ A canoe carrying a rescue team struck and knocked down a utility pole after briefly losing control while navigating floodwaters to rescue stranded residents during Monday’s flooding. #GHNow #fyp ♬ Owuo – Oʀɪɢɪɴᴀʟ Qᴜᴇᴇɴ Mɪɴᴀ
