By Akitania Nzally & Betty Ceesay
The Kanifing Municipal Council has recently bought five brand new generators geared to help pump out the water from the flooded homes within the Municipality.
However, considering the number of people affected by the flood within this short period, it is not yet certain as the Council awaits a short-term result of data from The National Disaster Management Agency which is expected to be presented to them before the end of August.
Following the recent reoccurring floods in the country in which many families have been severely affected by the loss of properties which also led to the displacement of people from their homes within the Municipality and beyond, such as Tobacco Road in Banjul where massive flooding occurred on the 30th of July leading to a relocation of the affected people to the St. Joseph’s Senior Secondary School with the help of The Gambia Red Cross Society and other humanitarian assistants.
In an interview with The Voice, Mr. Lamin F. Badjie, the Acting Director of Service and Public Affairs said that as part of the short-term solutions to solving these problems, they intend to relocate the victims to more suitable areas as shelter temporarily while the government sought to find best possible ways to eradicate these problems.
Other interventions include the provision of food items such as rice, cooking oil, and sugar as feeding assistance to reduce the burden on the victims
Mr. Badjie further stated that bigger plans will be put in place as the rainy season ends, as the Council cannot take immediate major decisions without a total data of the damages caused by the rain this year. As a result, the Council seeks to await a substantial report from the NDMA which is presently working on achieving data on the rainfall in the country.
He added that the end of August is the proposed period when clear data would have been achieved concerning the number of people affected and the severity of the damages caused.
However, he said that relocating the victims is a major priority at the moment.