Fifty two motorbikes, 33 laptops and five pickup vehicles were handed over to five Municipal and District Assemblies (MDAs) on Wednesday in the Upper West Region to enable them to monitor the implementation of the Guinea Northern Region Social Cohesion Project (SOCO)
The project is a national initiative with the primary objective of improving collaboration among communities and enhancing socio-economic wellbeing of persons in communities across the 11 MDAs of the region.
The Wa Municipal assembly received 12 motorbikes with three laptops.
The four remaining MDAs, namely Sissala East, Sissala West, Nandom and Wa East, received 10 motorbikes and three laptops each.
Four of the pick-up vehicles would be distributed to the SOCO zonal offices in the region, and the remaining one would be used by the Regional Coordinating Council (RCC) for monitoring of the project.
Presenting the items to the Districts, the Regional Minister, Dr Hafiz Bin Salih, said the motorbikes were meant for monitoring the progress of the SOCO project, and charged the districts to ensure they were used for the purpose.
He advised the beneficiary MDAs to regularly maintain the motorbikes to last longer, and pledged the support of the RCC for regular monitoring of implementation and logistics disbursed.
The SOCO Project Zonal Coordinator, Mr David Yankey, said the SOCO was a US$450 million multi project being implemented in Cote D’ Ivoire, Togo, Benin and Ghana with support from the World Bank.
The Ghana Government, he said, had been allocated a total of US$150 million from the sum.
Mr Yankey highlighted that the project would address issues of conflicts and terrorism, which were synonymous to the four countries, and help strengthen local institutions to support vulnerable people in the country.
The Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) for Wa, Mr Issahaku Tahiru Moomen, who received the items on behalf of his colleagues from the other districts, expressed appreciation to the SOCO Project for the initiative
He assured that the motorbikes would be used for the intended purpose and that accountability would be a priority.
The remaining 18 laptops would be given to the other six districts assemblies in the region who had earlier received their motorbikes
FROM RAFIA ABDUL RAZAK WA
