The Japan Embassy has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with two entities to a sum of $184,406 for the construction of two classroom blocks under the Grant Assistance for Grassroots Human Security (GGHSP).
The two classroom blocks, one each in the Central Gonja District of the Savanna Region and the other in Kpandai District in the Northern Region cost $92,112 and $92, 294 respectively.
The entities are the Capacity Improvement for Wellbeing of the Vulnerable (CIWED) and the Kpandai District Assembly in the Northern Region.
Speaking at the signing ceremony in Accra yesterday, the Japanese Ambassador to Ghana, Mr Mochizuki Hisanobu, said that his country’s Official Development Assistance (ODA) activities had been supporting communities to identify and address challenges that affected them.
“This is why the GGHSP projects are aligned with the priorities identified by the communities themselves with the support of NGOs or local public authorities at the community level,” he stated.
According to the Japanese Ambassador, it also provided platform for cooperation between the communities and other key stakeholders for successful implementation of the project.
He said the signing ceremony was to begin a process that would invest on the future of the children in the communities.
He added that, “it is my hope that these two projects will contribute considerably in bridging the infrastructure gap, so that the school children can compete with their colleagues in the urban areas.”
Mr Hisanobu mentioned that Japan had provided support for some grassroots projects including facility development in education, health, water and sanitation, agribusiness and women empowerment in Ghana through the GGHSP scheme.
He urged stakeholders to work together towards a successful implementation of the project so it could serve its purpose for a long time.
The Executive Director of CIWED, Baako Abdul-Fatawu, said the contract agreement offered an opportunity to expand the educational and training cooperation between both countries.
That, he said was due to the strong emphasis placed on public service by the embassy, adding that, the infrastructure when completed and fully utilised would serve both Kpatiya and Bombare as well as adjoining communities in the two regions.
He promised to judiciously use the grant to achieve the objectives of the project explaining that, regular updates would be provided in the form of reports on the projects in accordance with the embassy’s instructions.
BY JEMIMA ESINAM KUATSINU & CHARITY ASUKA
