Poor Funding, Hampering Emergency Intervention in Plateau State- SEMA

The Plateau State Emergency Management Agency has said inadequate funding to the agency is Hampering intervention of emergency cases in the state.

SEMA stated this while defending the 2023 budget of the Agency before the House Committee on Appropriation at the Assembly Complex.

Director of Relief and Rehabilitation of the Agency, Mr. Walman Simon, said as an office that coordinate disaster management in the state, funding is their major challenge.

“We are supposed to have not only materials but to also educate people warning signals. We are supposed to train first respondence but if there is no funds, definitely we can not train them and they are suppose to be at the community level.

Because prevention is better than cure, the best thing we need to do is disaster reduction, but if there is no funds, we cannot do those activities” he added.

They appealed to the Committee to intervene in order to help cushion the effect of disaster cases among the citizens.

While responding on whether there is no budgetary line for relief materials for the agency, Mr. Walman said there is budgetary line for purchase of relief materials and noted that many requests for that purpose are approved by the Governor, but cash backing is lacking, which is hampering their work.

The Committee through it Chairman, Yahaya Mavo, told the agency to itemize their challenges and submit to them as they promised to intervene in areas they can to ensure constant flow of funds to the office for emergency intervention.

They also suggested that when need be to amend the act establishing the agency for optimal, they would not hesitate to do that.

The State Emergency Management Agency is under the office of the state Deputy Governor. Office of the Secretary to Government of the State also appeared before the appropriation Committee and defended their budget also.

Ministry of Agriculture were also at the Assembly complex for their budget defense by the House Committee on Agriculture, chaired by Bala Noma, member representing Kantana constituency.