The presentation was held at WACA head office in Pipeline.
The gesture is aimed to equipping beneficiaries to effectively respond to and manage flood around the Kotu stream and beyond. The pumps are intended to be deployed to flooded communities to help pump water out of homes during inundations. 30 small machines with a capacity to pump 6000 liters of water in an hour were handed over to communities along the Kotu stream through their Ward Councilors. Four heavy-duty machines with a capacity to pump more than 500,000 liters of water in an hour were handed over to NDMA (2) and KMC and BAC one each.
At the handing over ceremony, Masanneh Landing Ceesay, Monitoring & Evaluation Specialist, WACA Project, explained the delivery of the floodwater pumping machines is part of their short-term interventions that also include the clearing of the entire length of the stream of waste and vegetation, clearing of the numerous illegal dumpsites along the stream and 3 kilometers of drains connected to the stream.
“We are also desilting the stream – removing sand sedimentation to enhance the easy flow of water and prevent the stream from overflowing into homes.” he added.
Mr Ceesay pointed out that all these flood risk mitigation measures are a direct response to the appeals of communities and local authorities during their extensive consultations with their stakeholders and community engagements in their project intervention area.
He observed that disaster risk reduction and resilience building require much more. It requires a multifaceted approach that includes early warning systems and community engagement.
“We strongly believe that with the right information at the right time, people can take the right measures to protect themselves, their families and livelihoods.” he stated.
Ebrima Jawara, permanent secretary at the Ministry of Environment, Climate Change and Natural Resources in deputising for his minister, recalled that for many years, they have watched how the scourge of flooding has ravaged homes, destroyed lives and displaced thousands of families in communities along the Kotu stream and beyond.
PS Jawara maintained that the machines are meant to bring relief to those affected communities and therefore urged operators of the machines to take extra precautions to ensure that when water is pumped out of homes and communities, it is emptied into waterways, to avoid inundating other places.
“Let me assure you that the Ministry of Environment, Climate Change and Natural Resources will continue to position itself to respond to the current and emerging challenges posed by climate change and environmental degradation. We will continue to implement the laws, policies and strategies, that help protect and preserve our natural resources.”
Sanna Dahaba, executive director of the National Disaster Management Agency (NDMA), acknowledged that globally there is a paradigm shift from disaster management to disaster risk reduction, saying the machines would go a long way in addressing resilience as well as reducing risk and vulnerability to disaster victims in the country.
Yankuba Darboe, chairman of Brikama Area Council (BAC) on behalf of the people of West Coast Region and Kanifing Municipality, thanked both the WACA Project, the Ministry of Environment, Climate Change and Natural Resources, and World Bank for its timely intervention.
Chairman Darboe pointed out that WACA’s interventions will greatly help in minimising the risk of flooding in the Kotu stream and thereby protecting lives and livelihood along the stream area.
He assured that they will do everything possible to ensure that the machines are put to proper use and properly maintained as well for future use.
