Municipal Chief Executive for West Gonja, Musah Kusubari has issued a warning to some private developers, especially one that is located right on top of the water way at Attributu, a suburb of Damongo, to either relocate or be forced to do so.
The MCE said his outfit will not stand aloof and allow an individual’s interest to override that of the larger Community.
“We will not allow one person’s interest to supersede that of the larger community. Relocating him is the only option for now because that will not stop him (pure water producer) from processing because he can still tap the water from the section and still process it but putting up the building here is pure indiscipline”, the MCE stated.
Last year, a section of the West Gonja Municipality was hit by flood waters and the Attributu community was badly affected leading to loss of both public and private properties including structures, food and livestock.
In an exclusive interview with JoyNews’ Isaac Nongya, during his monitoring of an ongoing bridge in Attributu to help direct water flow in the area, Mr. Musah Kusubari said enough is enough with the ‘do and see’ attitude by a section of the public and will ensure that the right thing is done to avoid a repeat of last year’s disaster.
He says the community is water-logged and any unauthorized structures will escalate the situation, “leaving this building here is a big problem because this is a water-logged area and all the water from town (Damongo) passes here. So, why should a building be erected right here to block the free flow of water”, the MCE queried.
He said his office will hold a stakeholder meeting on the matter and a final decision taken to protect lives and properties.
Our team also caught up with a visibly angry Savannah Regional Director of National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO), Mohammed Tohir who blamed those sitting behind the scene and encouraging the illegalities in the municipality.
According to him, it is not within the authority of the Organization to issue permit for such works because, “it’s the Physical Planning Department and the land owners who give lands to people. But we saw people developing and when asked they said they got the rights from the land owners and Town and Country Planning Department. But we actually advised that, that portion of the Land is not good for housing because it is on water way”, he indicated.
“Because you will recall that last year when we had heavy downpour, it wasn’t easy. The whole area was badly hit and even many of the structures collapsed and their walls could not withstand that because they are all sited on water ways.
And now, the new structures there too, even collapsed due to the presence of water. Now, they went and rebuilt and fortified it more with defense wall but the walls collapsed again yet , they are there”, Mr. Tohir stressed.
But the Savannah Regional Minister, Saeed Muhazu Jibril who is the immediate past MCE for West Gonja, said the call is right and all structures deem to prevent free flow of water in Attributu must go.
“It doesn’t matter whether public or private structures, once they are sited illegally, because right after the flood last year, I indicated that we would clear the area to pave way for water to run and now these additional new ones. Please, I wouldn’t tolerate any negative behavior on the water way. The right thing must be done and I will see to it that, that is done to protect lives and properties”, Mr. Saeed Muhazu Jibril warned.
Meanwhile, JoyNews is monitoring the development in the community and will update readers on the situation.
