Monrovia – The National Disaster Management Agency (NDMA), is functionally inadequate in terms of capacity and support; it does not have the needed financial and logistical support to function as an identity effectively, states NDMA annual report for 2018/2019 submitted to the board.
The Executive Director of the National Disaster Management Agency (NDMA), Henry O. Williams, has presented to the agency’s Board of Directors a report covering the first quarter of Fiscal Year 2018/2019.
In the first Board Meeting for the Budget Year 2018/2019 which was chaired by the Chairman and minister of internal Affairs Varney A. Sirleaf, Hon. Henry O. Williams who is Head of the NDMA and Secretary to the Board recapped successes and challenges of the agency. According to the report, the Agency is underfunded and understaffed; something that the entity says is contributing to the non-effectiveness of the institution.
The Executive Director of the National Disaster Management Agency, Hon. Henry O. Williams, in an interview with FrontPage Africa alarmed that the NDMA is faced with challenges of limited budget which cannot help the institution to function.
He said due to limited funding and understaffed at the institution many times disaster victims cannot be reached for humanitarian aids, especially fire victims.
He however disclosed that Sometimes aftermath survival die because of trauma and stress.
He noted that there are lots of people with good will out there for donor support to disaster related activities but what remains, as crippling and underpinning factor to harness real time donor support is government-matching fund with, a traditional principle that NDMA must adhere to.
Budget
The NDMA presented a budget of US$4, 867,695 to national government, of which amount government approved US$930,000.00, which is about 19% of the amount submitted.
The entity says it is important to note that there is a funding gap of USD$3,939,695 USD.
In the previous approved amount, compensation was grossly understated at US$347,280.00 and US$317,165.00 for Goods & Services and US$265,555.00 for Non-Financial Assets. The report revealed.
However, according to the report a copy of which is in the possession of FrontPage Africa, NDMA Management later requested that the budget be revised with major transfers, shifting the compensation component to US$783,448.00, Goods & Services to US$116,552.00 and Non-Financial Assets to US$30,000.00.
Considering the enormous challenges of demand on resources attended by economic meltdown and global reduction in the prices of primary commodities of the Country, NDMA is requesting for an additional funding of USD$1, 904, 444.00 as a bare minimum to run the Agency instead of USD$3,939,695 USD previously stated as a funding gap.
The NDMA in its report also disclosed that the workforce of the entity is relatively marginal.
The agency has sixty (60) employees, Thirty-eight (38) are males and twenty-two (22) are females.
Twenty-two (22) of the staffs have Bachelor Degree in various disciplines, while fifteen (15) of them have Master Degree. Two of the staffs have Associate Degree and seven are in universities. About fourteen (14) of NDMA staffers have High School Diplomas.
“Considering that disaster risk is a critical issue to the realization of government’s development agenda, even though resource mobilization for emergency is a known challenge, much frantic efforts must be made to establish the Fund,” Williams noted.
He however suggested in his report that the Board authorize and/or lead effort on mobilizing stakeholders and resources for the launch of the NDMA Trust Fund.
Williams wants NDMA’s logistical capacity to respond to disaster be strengthened by the government of Liberia and partners. The NDMA boss called on the government to increase budgetary allocation to the NDMA’s operations so as to avoid delay in response when disaster occurs.
He called for increased in the personnel budget in order to augment its workforce, through the establishment of its structure throughout the fifteen (15) counties for quick response in case of disaster.
This year 2018, Liberia experienced a serious flooding situation that affected Margibi, Montserrado, Grand Bassa, Bomi, Sinoe Grand Kru and Maryland Counties.
Approximately 44% of the 52,726 affected persons are females, while 18% are children and the remaining 38% are males according to the NDMA.
The Government of Liberia (GOL) in collaboration with partners made series of interventions through provision of food and nonfood items to affected communities in Grand Bassa, Bomi, Montserrado and Margibi counties.
The NDMA report says 85% (44, 817) of the reported 52,726 affected individuals received humanitarian assistance, while 15% (7, 908) would not be reached.
Emergency Funding Recovery Strategy
The government funding to disaster activities is at all time low but disaster risk to the population is ever increasing.
The financial report of the NDMA stats that the funding gap reinforces the urgency for a concerted effort to formulate means to raise fund.
One of the means to raise disaster funding in Liberia is stated in the Act of NDMA.
The NDMA’s Act clearly states the means through which emergency funding and recovery strategy of Liberia supposed to be handled.
It mandates the establishment of a Disaster Management Trust Fund to comprise the Disaster Mitigation Fund and the Disaster Response Fund.
In 2012, the Cabinet validated and endorsed the National Disaster Risk Management Policy of Liberia. This policy among other things, called for the establishment of an autonomous agency to coordinate all disaster related activities in the country.
Pursuant to the policy, an Act of National Legislature established the National Disaster Management Agency (NDMA) in 2016. NDMA has a mandate to ensure the full implementation of the National Disaster Risk Management Policy through the effective coordination of a multidisciplinary approach to Disaster Risk Management (DRM).