By Alieu Amara Suwu
National Disaster Management Agency (NDMA) Sierra Leone has requested over 15 million new Leones for the Financial Year 2023 of which Nle 5, 219,260.0 will be for administrative and operating cost and Nle 10,000,000.0 will be for disaster management and operations.
Highlighting their key deliverables for 2023, Lt. General (Rtd) Brima Sesay, Director General of the NDMA said is to develop policies and legal framework on vulnerability and disasters, improve disaster response within the country at all levels, strengthen early warning mechanisms, enhance coordination and collaboration among state and non-state for disaster risk reduction, mitigation, and assessment of Critical National Infrastructure (CNI) and increase community involvement in responding to disaster and implement climate information disaster management.
The Director General, giving a summary of approved funds for response to disasters (Disaster Relief Funds) from January to date is Nle 9,597,032.38. He explained that 192,570.00 was given for support to Presidential Task Force for the investigation of the Wellington Fire Disaster, 2,825,115.50 was given as response to 22 communities in the Western Area, six towns in the North, eight towns in the South and six towns in the East, 1,697,038.80 was given as responding to Wellington Fire Disaster, 187,100.000 as respond to windstorm incident in Gardonhun village, Gbane Chiefdom, Kono District and 4,695,208.08 as a response to fire, flooding, collapsed fence/buildings incidents in diverse villages across the country.
Following the 2017 landslide and floods, the Government of Sierra Leone initiated the enactment of legislation for the establishment of a stand-alone NDMA charged with the responsibility of managing disasters and similar emergencies throughout Sierra Leone and developed the capacity of communities to respond effectively and efficiently to disasters.
