Upper East Region to benefit from 232 projects under SOCO – Regional Minister

The Upper East Region is witnessing a transformative wave, with 232 projects currently under construction under the Gulf of Guinea Northern Regions Social Cohesion (SOCO) project.

The host of projects includes various sectors such as education, health, road networks, and agriculture based on the communities’ needs.

Stephen Yakubu, the Upper East Regional Minister, said a part of the project’s component ensures that a percentage of the money goes back to the beneficiary communities through the labour provided.

The minister, who was speaking during the inspection of the project sites in the Bongo and Talensi districts, gave the assurance that there are ready funds to ensure the projects are completed on time.

“The money is sitting in the accounts of the assemblies and therefore, there is no reason at all for the projects to stall. Apart from that, the monitoring that we are doing to make sure that the contractors are doing the right thing and to meet the deadline, there is no way these projects would stall.”

The Gulf of Guinea Northern Regions Social Cohesion (SOCO) is a credit facility of $150 million (out of the total $450 million) that the Government of Ghana, through the Ministry of Local Government, Decentralization, and Rural Development (MLGDRD), in collaboration with the Ministry of Finance, secured from the World Bank.

The project is implemented in 6 regions in the northern parts of Ghana – namely the Northern, Upper East, Upper West, North East, Savannah, and Oti Regions.

It aims to reduce vulnerability to climate change, improve economic opportunities, enhance social cohesion, and spur development in 48 metropolitan, municipal, and district assemblies in the 6 regions.

The Talensi district, for instance, is benefiting from projects such as CHPS compounds, classroom blocks, guinea fowl rearing, and fish farming projects.

District Chief Executive for Talensi, Thomas Duanab Wuni, said the projects were selected based on the community’s needs.

The Bongo is benefiting from classroom blocks, CHPS compound construction of culverts, and pavilions for shea butter extraction.

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