Participants at a Regional Town Hall forum, held at Bolgatanga in the Upper East Region, have lauded the government for its numerous interventions, such as the Free Senior High School (SHS), the Planting for Food and Jobs and Nation Builders Corps (NABCO) programme.
The forum, which was organised by the Ministry of Information in collaboration with the Regional Co-ordinating Council, was to afford the political leaders in the region the opportunity to render their stewardship to the populace.
Whilst majority of the participants observed that the government’s One Village, One Dam (1V1D) policy was a very good initiative, they indicated that many of the dams constructed were poorly executed and could not stand the test of the time.
The participants also mentioned the lack of ambulances, poor road infrastructure, smuggling of fertilisers, challenges of the free SHS, lack of furniture in schools, among others, as some of the challenges confronting the region.
Furthermore, some of participants appealed to the government to honour its promise to establish an airport in the region, and also expressed worry over the poor sanitation and security situation in the region and the nation as a whole.
The forum under the theme, “Accounting for Financial Sector Resolution, Jobs and Agriculture,” attracted stakeholders, including traditional rulers, civil society organisations, representatives of political parties and the media, among others.
The Deputy Minister of Food and Agriculture, Dr Sagre Bambangi, said that the agriculture sector was capable of generating more jobs and foreign exchange than any sector in the country, and it was against this background that the government attached more importance to the sector.
Dr Bambangi mentioned some of the government’s interventions in the area of agriculture as Planting for Export and Rural Development and Planting for Food and Jobs, adding that the interventions had led to food security and job creation.
The Minister of Information, Mr Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, told the stakeholders that the government’s programme was on course, and mentioned the free SHS, Planting for Food and Jobs, Rearing for Food and Jobs, the recruitment of youth under NABCOas some of them.
He entreated all Ghanaians to be “supporters and partakers” of all the programmes and policies the government was rolling out, so as to help impact on the livelihoods of the people.
From Samuel Akapule, Bolgatanga
