Alhaji Mohammed-Mubarak Muntaka, Member of Parliament (MP) for Asawase Constituency in the Ashanti Region has stressed on the need for stronger unity among people of various tribal groups in Zongo communities to accelerate development.
He explained that “until the leadership of the various tribal groups formed a strong united front to galvanise the people to undertake pragmatic socio-economic measures, Zongo communities will continue to experience developmental challenges”.
Addressing the executives of the Voices of Zongo International (VOZI), a nongovernmental organisation (NGO) focussing on promoting development of Zongo communities, Alhaji Muntaka pointed out that, “doing away with sectarianism and divisions in ideologies are the only way to promote collective approach to tackle the developmental agenda of Zongo communities”.
The leadership of VOZI visited the MP to interact and discuss with him some of the initiatives being implemented by the organisation, especially in the areas of education, sanitation, business development, violence prevention, among others and sought his support to achieve success.
According to Alhaji Mubarak “sectarianism, ideological differences, factionalism and tribal rivalry among the people in Zongo communities over the years, are the major contributing factor to stagnated development and poverty among the people in those communities.
“It is disheartening to realise that various groups have been organising different programmes and activities to promote Zongo development but serious challenges continue to exist due to sharp differences among the people in Zongo communities,” he bemoaned.
Alhaji Muntaka praised the leadership of VOZI for coming out with such idea but cautioned against divisions among themselves and the people they were going to serve saying, “I advise you to work hard to complement efforts by various stakeholders to promote improved socio-economic and living conditions of people in Zongo communities across the country”.
He charged the leadership to ensure greater transparency in probity and accountability in all their dealings since that was the only way to gain the trust of the people. -GNA
