|
New political region for the North,
serves all interest, VP says
Bole (N/R), April 13,
Ghanadot/GNA – Vice President John Dramani Mahama has
said the creation of a new region out of the Northern Region
should be in the interest of all northerners and not seen as
the agenda of any group of people.
He said the Northern Region covered a vast expanse of land
and it was therefore necessary for it to be divided into two
to ensure effective and smooth administration and its
accelerated development.
Vice President Mahama said this in response to an appeal by
the Gonja Traditional Council to expedite action on the
creation of another region out of the present northern
region at the 33rd Annual Congress of the Gonjaland Youth
Association (GYA) in Bole on Sunday.
The theme for the Congress was: “Challenges of the Gonjaland
Youth Association at 33.”
The Gonja Traditional Council has since 2003 petitioned the
previous NPP government for the creation of another
administrative region out of the Northern Region.
Vice President Mahama said the creation of a new region
would be based on merit and in accordance with due
constitutional processes.
The Vice President said the tarring of the remaining portion
of the Bole/Bamboi road and the Swala/Fulfuso road was a
priority concern of government and special funding was being
sought for the project.
He re-echoed governments intention to use agriculture as the
pivot for the development of the country and said in line
with this a Youth in Agriculture Programme would soon be
launched to encourage the youth to go into medium and large
scale commercial farming.
The youth would be encouraged to form cooperatives to enable
them access credit facilities and other farming inputs.
Vice President Mahama reiterated that the government would
establish a Sheanut Development Board to manage the affairs
of the sheanut industry and also establish a sheanut
processing factory which is likely to be sited at Buipe in
the Central Gonja District.
He said government would soon establish a teacher training
institution in Bole to train more teachers to serve the
Northern Region and also promised to build a boys’ hostel
for the Bole Senior High School.
Mr. Stephen Sumani Nayina, the Northern Regional Minister,
said the NDC government was committed to continuing with all
the good policies, projects and programmes initiated by the
previous regime.
He said under the District Wide Assistance Project a number
of projects including the construction of a five- unit
police barracks at Abrumasi, the construction of one teacher
accommodation at Wambong, surgical theatre with maternity
ward at Sawla and the construction and furnishing of a
girls’ hostel at Damongo Health Nursing Assistants Training
School.
Bolewura Amankwa Gbeadese II, Paramount Chief of the Bole
Traditional Area, appealed to the government to post more
doctors and other paramedics to the area.
He also appealed for the provision of a small town water
supply to Bole, saying that the system which was developed
for a population of 6,000 was no longer capable of serving
the population of 16,000 people.
Alhaji Ahmed Ewura, National President of the GYA,
enumerated some of the challenges facing the association as
lack of infrastructural development in Gonjaland and the
inability to harness its well endowed natural resources such
as water bodies, tourist sites and the lime and gold
deposits at Buipe and Dakuripe and Bombire to the advantage
of Gonjaland.
Alhaji Ewura commended the Sawla_Tuna-Kalba District for its
spectacular performance in the 2007 and 2008 Basic Education
Certificate Examination.
The results saw an improvement in the overall performance of
the district making it move from the 44th to the 16 position
in the nationwide rankings and subsequently emerging the
best district in the three northern regions.
GYA elected a five-member executive with Mr. Saddique Bakari
Nayeri as National President and Mr. Yussif Ibrahim as
secretary to run the affairs of the association for the next
two years.
Vice President Mahama, a member of the association gave GH¢2,000
during an appeal for funds to help run its affairs.
GNA
|
