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Support govt to bridge poverty gap — Shai Osudoku DCE

The Shai Osudoku District Chief Executive, Daniel Akuffo, has urged the citizenry to support government’s effort in bridging the poverty and inequality gaps  in the area.

He regretted that Shai Osudoku, which has the largest land size in the Greater Accra Region and naturally endowed, continued to face  poverty hence the need for the people in the area to support the assembly’s effort to implement its programmes.

“The government has put in place numerous programmes to bridge the poverty and inequality gaps; it was imperative that the people take  advantage of the opportunity and be part of the beneficiaries,” he added.

Mr Akuffo said this at the opening of a two-day workshop dubbed, “Engendering stronger relationships between the assembly and citizens against poverty and inequality” yesterday at Dodowa in the Greater Accra Region.

It is being organised by the Foundation for Security Development in Africa (FOSDA), a non-governmental organisation in collaboration with Oxfam and the Shai Osudoku District Assembly.

It attracted youth and women groups, religious bodies, traditional authorities and civil society organisations.

Issues discussed include the role of citizens in revenue mobilisation and expenditure, development and budget planning of the assembly and how it works, citizen advocacy in the development action plan, and discussions on poverty and inequality report in Ghana.

Mr Akuffo said steps taken by government to end poverty include the disbursement of the Livelihood Against Poverty (LEAP) and Disability funds, which distributes working tools and starter packs to beneficiaries, completion of Community-based Health Planning Services (CHPS) to  bring healthcare closer to the people, registration of the vulnerable on the National Health Insurance Scheme by the assembly, and the free education policy introduced by the government to  enable the rich, and the poor have equal access to education.

The DCE indicated that an enabling environment had also been created for farmers through the Planting for Food and Jobs Programme to create jobs and increase food production, adding that over 3,428 farmers in the area have already benefited.

Mr Akuffo said the construction of warehouses would serve as storage for buffer stock and urged the youth to take advantage of all these programmes, and help eradicate poverty in the area.

The Programme Manager of FOSDA, Mrs Theodora W. Anti, in her opening remarks, said the time had come to increase advocacy towards bridging the poverty gap.

She said “it is when the citizenry are properly sensitised on the role of the assembly in the implementation of planned actions and programmes of government, that they would be in a better position to lend their support.

Mrs Anti stated that the area was endowed with natural resources, but the people continued to face poverty, hence the need to increase education of the people to enable them appreciate and support the government’s effort to eliminate poverty and inequality.

FROM:   LAWRENCE VOMAFA-AKPALU,  DODOWA

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