Somalia Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre has appealed to humanitarian agencies and international donors to help the Somali people who have been ravaged by the devastating floods in the country.
Speaking in the outskirts of Kismayo town when he visited Luglow and Yontoy where thousands of displaced people are sheltering, the PM said that this is the right time for aid agencies to help the Somalia Federal Government in mitigating the current crisis caused by the flash floods as a result of the ongoing El-Nino weather phenomena.
” This is the right time for humanitarian aid agencies and international donors to help the people of Somalia overcome the current crisis before the situation gets out of hand and cause further destruction of property and death.” said Hamza.
The Prime Minister who was accompanied by Jubbaland State President Ahmed Madobe and several Federal and State officials decried about the situation on the ground saying his visit to Jubbaland State is to get first hand experience and coordinate government efforts towards the floods.
“My visit in Jubbaland State is to acquaint myself with the situation and assess the humanitarian situation on the ground and mobilize government resources for the mitigation of the current crisis bedeviling us.” he said.
Hamza reiterated that it is time for Somalia to free itself from its incessant dependence on aid from outside and adapt resilient mechanisms to overcome calamities such as the flooding and recurrent droughts which he stated have inflicted untold suffering on the Somali people.
This is the second time Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre is visiting Jubbaland State. His visit was in Dolow town, Gedo region where inspected and evaluated the humanitarian situation befalling on local residents in the town.
Somalia is currently grappling with severe flooding caused by the current heavy rains and surging water levels which has claimed the lives of 96 people and displaced thousands of others in Central and Southern Somalia.
Jubbaland State is among the regional State of the Federal Government of Somalia that has been worst hit by the floods after river Juba bursts its banks resulting in extensive property damage and significant destruction in the agricultural sector.
Residential homes in Baardhere , Afmadow and Dolow districts have also been submerged by water leaving people to escape for their lives.
