Rainstorm wrecks havoc on school buildings in Kassena-Nankana Municipality

PA severe rainstorm hit the Kassena-Nankana Municipality and its soundings last Tuesday night, ripping off roofs of government school buildings and houses of individuals, resulting in destruction of properties.

 The rainstorm, which also brought down a lot of high tension electrical poles in many communities putting the affected areas into a blackout, also uprooted considerable number of trees in the affected communities.

This came to light when the Municipal Chief Executive of the Kassena-Nankana, Mr Williams Adum, accompanied by some of the technocrats of the Assembly and some staff of the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) on Friday, toured the affected areas and schools destroyed by the storm to assess the extent of damage.

Some of the affected schools the MCE and his working team visited included Gaani Junior High School, where the roof of the three-unit classroom block built in 2010, with funding from the District Development Fund, was completely ripped off, compelling students to study under trees.

At the Sabisi Primary School where they visited, the situation was not different. The two three-unit classroom blocks had their roofs ripped off, compelling teachers to teach in the open.

The management of all the affected schools expressed regret that the incident coincided with the re-opening day for basic schools and also the period of preparation for the Basic Education Certification Examination (BECE) candidates. 

The head teacher of the Sabisi Primary School, Mr Benjamin Agamina, stated that the school which had a total population of 400 pupils experienced such calamity last year which affected academic performance. 

The management of the affected schools, who appealed to the Municipal Assembly, NGOs, philanthropists and community members to come to their aid to reroof the schools, also pleaded for the provision of furniture for their schools. 

The MCE stated that the rainstorm situation was becoming a routine in the area, indicating that last year, about nine schools, including many households were affected by the storm and appealed to the schools and the communities to ensure that they embarked on massive tree growing to serve as windbreak.

Mr Adum tasked NADMO to conduct effective assessment in the affected communities to establish the extent of damage, stating that the assembly would do what was within its means to support the affected communities and schools but would forward what is beyond its means to the national level for redress.

The MCE had also appealed to the Northern Electricity Department (NED) of the VRA to, as a matter of urgency; restore power to the affected communities by replacing the high electricity tension poles that had been pulled down by the storm.

The Principal Mechanic of the Northern Electricity Department (NED) of the Volta River Authority (VRA), Haruna Abdul-Razak Ali, who was on the field with his workers as at the time of the MCE’s tour, assured the MCE that power would be restored  to the affected communities.

The Municipal Director of Education in-charge of Planning, Mr Albert Adonnawura, who represented the Municipal Director of Education, Mr Edmond Azuri, reiterated the need for the government and other stakeholders to come to the aid of the affected schools.

FROM SAMUEL AKAPULE, NAVRONGO