By Mohamed T Massaquoi
NGOs in Pujehun are working in isolation and in effect misusing donor funds, members of the Pujehun District Disaster Management Committee have claimed.
The committee, at its weekly meeting last week lamented that lack of cooperation between the relevant authorities and NGOs meant that everyone was working on their own projects so that the outcomes impact less on the targeted communities.
The weekly meeting brings together all stakeholders involved in disaster management in the disaster-prone district. Last week’s edition was held on Wednesday.
The Pujehun District Medical Officer, Dr David Bome, led the wave of criticism of the conduct of the NGOs. He singled out the children charity Save the Children International and World Vision for defying procedures in the implementation of the projects.
Bome urged fellow committee members at the meeting held at the District Council Hall it was high time they were prepared head of the rains to provide proper emergency response to the disaster-prone zones of the district.
Bome said Pujehun was well known for Laser Fever, Cholera and Diarrhea infections, especially during the rainy season, and therefore stressed that they must put plans in place to handle potential outbreak of these diseases.
There are twelve chiefdoms in Pujehun District. Bome said among these Malen Chiefdom, where the agribusiness company Socfin operates, is the most prone to Laser Fever, whilst Sorogbeima and Makpele chiefdoms along the Mano River border were known for Cholera. He said diarrhea was common throughout the district.
Bome said the most common cause of Cholera and Diarrhea in the district was linked to shortage of safe drinking water in most of the communities. He said as the committee responsible for coordinating disaster management in the district, they must be ready to work on identification of areas that were prone to flooding and these diseases outbreak.
The deputy chairman of the Pujehun District Council, Councilor Moses Kalilu Fofanah, supported the allegation against NGOs working in isolation. He said this had led to duplication of responses. He vowed that the Council was determined to ensure that this was ended.
Fofanah spoke about plans to re-activate disaster management committees at chiefdom level for rapid response system and promised that this would be accompanied by training for these committee members.
Chairman of the Pujehun District Youth Council, Brima Fullah, angrily described the act of the NGOs as “corruption to the highest degree.”
He called on the committee to consider developing a Memorandum of Understanding with the NGOs clearly stating how they should respond to disaster related issues.
Ibrahim Pemagbie from the Sierra Leone Red Cross Society recalled that the district was well known for both flooding and fire disasters. He said seven chiefdoms in the district were known for flooding, three for fire disasters, and two for heavy thunderstorms which destroys houses.
Meanwhile, representatives of the two NGOs singled out for criticism - Save the Children and World Vision - told the meeting that their mandate was to respond to disaster issues within seventy-two hours and that meeting that had been their major challenge with the committee. But they denied that the intention was for them to work in isolation of the committee.
They echoed calls for the committee to develop a Memorandum of Understanding with their organizations on how to respond to such issues.
(C) Politico 14/06/16
