The Ghana Commercial Bank PLC has supported victims of the Bagre dam spillage in the Upper East region with an amount of Ghs 100,000.
At a short ceremony at Bolgatanga in the Upper East region, the Tamale Zone Regional Manager of the Ghana Commercial Bank PLC, Alhaji Mohammed Mipo presented a cheque of Ghs100,000 to the Upper East Regional Minister, Stephen Yakubu, for onward presentation to the Upper East Regional Director of the National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO), Asamani Jerry.
According to the Tamale Zone Regional Manager of the Ghana Commercial Bank PLC, Alhaji Mohammed Mipo, the support forms part of the bank’s corporate social responsibility.
Alhaji Mipo was optimistic that the support will go a long way to cushion the affected victims and their families.
The Upper East Regional Minister, Stephen Yakubu, who received that cheque on behalf of NADMO, thanked GCB Bank PLC for coming to the aid of the Bagre dam spillage victims in the region.
He also called on other organizations, institutions, and philanthropists to support the Regional Co-ordinating Council and NADMO to reach out to the affected victims.
The Upper East Regional Director of the National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO), Asamani Jerry, indicated that the support from the GCB Bank was timely and that the amount will complement the relief items NADMO had procured to distribute to the affected victims in the coming days.
“ The support from GCB Bank is unprecedented and we are sure it will be a relief for the victims of the Bagre dam spillage and I believe the victims will have a smiling face from next week onwards.”
He disclosed that part of the GH 100,000 will be used to support the over 2,000 refugees who fled from Burkina Faso to the Upper East region of Ghana and have been camped at Bawku Central and Binduri due to the terrorist attacks by militants.
Mr. Jerry revealed that the spillage of the Bagre dam destroyed farmlands, destroyed houses, and rendered over 1,000 residents homeless.
“ The spillage affected most farms and farmers were forced to prematurely harvest their farm produce others could not salvage anything and houses were destroyed and so the devastation was severe.”
The Upper East Regional Director of NADMO was hopeful that government will come up with solutions to permanently resolve the Bagre dam spillage which causes devastation to the people of the Upper East and the North at large every year.
The floodgates of the Bagre Dam were opened for spillage on September 1, 2022.
The spillage has submerged several farmlands and destroyed houses in the North East and other regions across the country.
FROM Eric Kombat