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One established government institution, that is tasked with seeing to the well being of Ghanaians, in terms of disaster management, is the National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO). As the name depicts, the most times NADMO becomes functional or is heard off, is when something terrible happens to us as a nation. As part of their operations, NADMO is expected to support affected persons with relief items, depending on the particular disaster at hand. This means in times of famine, the most needed items, obviously are food and water. And where there is a disaster such as fire out-breaks, earth quakes and floods, which usually destroy the basic physiological needs of those involved, relief items go beyond just food. Apart from rescue operations and managing the situation in the event of a disaster, one may expect that measures will be put in place to prevent future occurrences. But what has been the practice down here when disaster strikes? As a Nation, fortunately for us, the kind of disasters we experience, are not in the category of the Hurricane Katrina (USA) or the Sichuan earthquake (China), which claimed thousands of lives and destroyed properties worth millions of dollars. Comparing those cases to how Ghana, for that matter NADMO, handles the management of disasters, is nothing to write home about. This year, Ghana has seen two major disasters. First, it was the road carnage which claimed 602 lives between January and March. In the second instance, more than a hundred people were displaced; lives and properties were lost, following three days of continuous rainfall in the capital, Accra. In addition, many who remained in their homes had the unfortunate option of swimming for their lives, wading through deep water, or remaining trapped in their attics or on their rooftops. In the face of such monumental devastation, what did we do? That was where NADMO became so popular. Oh yes! Every media report on the issue, captured NADMO and government�s attention, with promises of ensuring safety and applying appropriate measures, fluttering like flies everywhere. Interestingly, it appears after giving them the mattresses, food, the over-sized cloths, among others termed as relief items, then that is all. Because when you call for drastic measures, NADMO always sings the same old tune; �we have limited resources or we are working towards it.� But does that ensure the disaster never occurs again? About two years ago, a terrible flood hit the three Northern Regions, which destroyed many farms and affected lots of villages, rendering thousands homeless. The situation attracted the attention of many philanthropists who donated building materials, and other items needed for reconstruction of the place, including money. The way the issue caught national attention, it was as if government or NADMO and the appropriate institution was going to take the opportunity, to at least, make a commitment to the ancient cry of bridging the gap between the South and the North. But what happened to that? The same old story! The rightful beneficiaries never benefited from it, all the funds and donations sunk into a bottomless pit. That was about two years ago, today, the place is still flooding, and more seriously, because naturally, rains are seasonal. However, what has aggravated flooding in the north, particularly villages sharing borders with Burkina Faso such as Bawku East and West Districts, Gambaga District and Upper West Region, is the spilling of water from the Bagre and Kopienga Dams by the Burkinabes. This situation, which has become an annual ritual, is happening at a time our farmers in the north, are expected to be harvesting their crops. But �thankfully�, the harvest is being done by the flood, where their farm produce are being washed away by the floods, including their properties. And all we do every year, is to provide them with mattresses and food, all in the name of managing the disaster. That is the more reason why I think we should have a National Disaster PREVENTION Organization instead of a National Disaster MANAGEMENT Organization (NADMO). If that is done, then Ghana can for instance, as a remedy to forever preventing flooding from the spilling of the water from the Bagre and Kopienga Dams by the Burkinabes, construct a canal to divert the water into the Black Volta. That will go a long way in solving the problem, once and for all.