Upper East to Introduce Rearing for Food and Jobs - -Regional Minister

By Peter Atogewe Wedam

Upper East Regional Minister, Ms. Paulina Patience Abayage, has hinted of an additional programme "Rearing for Food and Jobs" which is to be rolled out in the course of the year.

The Regional Minister explained that most of government's policies were targeting the poor and marginalised groups in society and therefore, urged women and the unemployed to take advantage of especially the "Rearing for Food and Jobs" programme among initiatives so as to better their lot.

She dropped the hint when she formally introduced herself to the chiefs and people of the Bongo Traditional Area.

She called for the support and wise counsel of the Paramount Chief of the Bongo Traditional Area, Naba Baba Salifu Lemyaarum and the other chiefs in the region, to enable her to administer the region effectively.

The Minister who assumed office on November 8 last year, praised the Bo-Naba for his relentless efforts in women empowerment and other social development issues relating to women and children.

The Minister, who is a gender advocate, also commended the Bo-Naba for leading the concept of Queen Mothers in the region and their inclusion in the traditional councils. This she noted, brings women to the forefront of decision making at the local level.

The Regional Minister said the Free Senior High School the policy was still running smoothly in the area, remarking that "every family in Ghana is positively affected by this policy in as long as the family had a child of SHS-going age."

She noted that four dams under the government's 1 Village, 1 Dam initiative had been completed in Kabre, Kuyelingu and Ayopia and were in use much to the relief of the beneficiary communities.

Touching on the programme to build one warehouse in each district, the Minister was full of joy that one such project was almost nearing completion in the Bogrigo community of the Bongo District and that, a grains' warehouse was also being constructed in the Builsa North District while other districts had also awarded their projects.

The Paramount Chief of Bongo, Naba Baba Salifu Lemyaarum thanked government for the development projects in his traditional area. He mentioned works on the more that 40-kilometre Bongo-Balungu-Namoo feeder roads and spot rehabilitation on the 38.5-kilometre Balungu-Lungo-Vea feeder roads.

Meanwhile, works on the Gorigu-Balungu Bridge is at an advanced stage.

Bo-Naba appealed to the Regional Minister to push for the completion of an Assembly Hall complex for the Bongo Assembly that has been abandoned for over a decade.

He was also unhappy about an abandoned Community Information Centre located right behind the Assembly that had been left to rot while an ICT center constructed by GIFEC was also in ruins since its completion years ago.

The chief pledged his support for the Regional Minister and admonished the region's citizens against anonymous letters and "faceless petitions" against political office holders and other duty-bearers emphasising that, such unnecessary actions only drawback the region's development agenda.

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