I DID NOT CHOOSE SANG AS DISTRICT CAPITAL - MION MP

(Daily Graphic, 11 Jan, 2012, page 17)

THE Member of Parliament (MP) for the Mion constituency in the Northern Region, Dr Ahmed Yakubu Alhassan has denied allegations that he selected Sang as the district capital for the newly-created Mion district.

The MP was recently assaulted by some residents of Sambu during his recent visit to the area, because the people are opposed to the selection of Sang as district capital, instead of Sambu.

He told the Daily Graphic that he had no hands in the selection of the district capital and that a committee had been set up by the government to appraise the various towns in each new district and select the one which is of economic and business importance as the district capital.

Dr Alhassan, who is seeking a third term in Parliament, rejected rumours that the people were against his re-election bid, stressing that they were misinformed that he selected Sang as the district capital for Mion.

The MP urged contestants of the parliamentary primaries of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the Mion constituency to avoid personal attacks and engage in a clean campaign.

He said he was not pleased about some comments he had heard about himself allegedly being made by some of the contestants, but gave the assurance that he would not be drawn into such mudslinging.

“I do not see why we should be against each other since we are all in the same party. We should allow the delegates to select their preferred candidate for the seat,” he stated, adding that he was convinced he would emerge victorious.

Dr Alhassan denied allegations that he was buying expensive cars to the neglect of the needs of his constituents, saying that the car he was using was given to him as an MP.

He also denied peddling lies about one of his opponents, Mr Ibrahim Tanko, stressing that such rumours were calculated to destroy his image.

The Mion MP said criticisms that he had not done anything for the Mion constituency are misplaced because he had than a lot including helping the area to be carved into a district out of the Yendi municipality.

He said he wrote a proposal in 2008 to the government making a case for Mion to be made a district, adding that he followed up on it when the NDC came into power and the result is now obvious.

Dr Alhassan said in his bid to ease the water problems of some communities in his constituency, he constructed three boreholes in three villages.

He mentioned that he had also made efforts to connect many communities in the constituency to the national grid, adding that areas such as Sambu, Adiboo and Zakpalis had benefited from a street lighting project through his effort.

Dr Alhassan commended the government for allocating GH¢1 million to the newly-created Mion district, describing the development as unprecedented in the history of Mion.

He said the money would be used judiciously to set up the district administration offices and commence other development projects.

UNDERSTANDING SADA IS CRUCIAL TO ITS SUCCESS

(Daily Graphic, Jan 9, 2012, page 10)

IT is understandable why the establishment of the Savannah Accelerated Development Authority (SADA) was greeted with much delight among some sections of the Ghanaian population, particularly those from the northern Savannah areas.

The North has remained backwards for a long time in terms of development and this has been blamed largely on an old colonial policy which resulted in a situation where development efforts were centred in the south.

After independence, however, it was realised that the lack of development of the north was a bane to the progress of the country in general.

For instance, the low standard of education in the north meant a high level of illiteracy in that area.

The lack of development in the north also resulted in the mass migration of a large army of unemployed youth to the southern sector to seek job opportunities, and consequently leading to over population in cities like Kumasi and Accra, thereby eroding the development gains made in the south.

A number of interventions were therefore introduced to reduce the development gap between the south and the north. Although, many of these achieved some success, they were not enough to bring about the desired transformation of the north.

This re-echoed the need for a much more pragmatic, sustainable and well-strategized development blueprint for the north.

Many therefore heaved a sigh of relief when the government introduced the SADA Bill to parliament, which was consequently passed into law after there was general consensus on the relevance of this body.

The SADA Law (Act 805, 2010) mandates the authority to work towards bridging the development gap between the Northern Savannah Ecological Zone and the rest of the country.

This zone, which is considered the food basket of the country, comprises the Northern, Upper East, Upper West and parts of the Brong Ahafo and Volta regions.

Subsequently, the government constituted and inaugurated a board to oversee the affairs of SADA. A former Northern Regional Minister, Alhaji Gilbert Seidu Iddi, was later appointed to run the day to day operations of SADA as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO).

So finally, here is the much awaited development machine for the north.

However, it has become obvious that many people are still dissatisfied. This time, the dissatisfaction is not about government’s inaction in developing the north, but the failure of the newly-established SADA to hit the ground running.

Those who are discontented claim they are yet to see any physical signs of the impact of this authority, in spite of the launch of the Millennium Villages Project (MVP).

Of course, how can you begrudge them? It was the daily language of politicians that SADA would offer a quick solution to the problems of the north, such as unemployment, poor road networks, ailing agriculture, environmental degradation, high illiteracy, name them.

As a result, many northern folk nurtured high expectations about the performance of the then yet-to-be-created SADA. Therefore, failure to see these promises materialise would ultimately generate some disillusionment.

In fact, some have also raised concerns over the failure of government to adequately resource SADA as promised earlier.

My role as a journalist however gives me a unique opportunity to approach this issue from a different perspective.

From my layman’s diagnoses, there is deep misunderstanding among the northern Ghanaian population – be they literates or illiterates – about the mandate of SADA.

This deep-seated misunderstanding has the tendency to affect the credibility of SADA and the government as well. It can erode public confidence in the ability of SADA to transform the north, and lead to a situation where people’s preconditioned minds tend to affect their co-operation with the authority.

SADA, as I understand, was not established to carry out development works all by itself. SADA would neither go to the farms to till the lands, plant and harvest the food, nor would it pick up graders to work on the deplorable roads.

If SADA needs to do some research or feasibility studies into a particular area of intervention, it would not be the one to do it. It would have to work with other institutions that have the capacity to do so, such as the University for Development Studies (UDS) and the Savannah Agricultural Research Institute (SARI).

Again, SADA is not a project that would elapse within a stipulated time and it is not a replacement to all other development programmes in the north.

It would also not be a replacement to the various decentralised bodies or to the National Development Planning Commission, the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA), the Ministry of Roads and Highways, etc.

Thus, the establishment of SADA does not mean that all resources and funds allocated for the development of the Savannah areas would be channelled to it.

In fact, my understanding is that SADA is an engine that has been built by seasoned economic and development ‘engineers’ with the sole purpose of fast-tracking the development process in the north, just like how the engine of an automobile keeps it moving.

It is a permanent body that would link up with all institutions that are working towards the development of the north and offer strategic leadership and direction to the development process in the north.

By so doing, SADA would ensure that all these institutions focus on the very essential areas and that there is coordination, but not duplication.

SADA would be the magnet that would attract development funds for the north. It would therefore ensure that these funds reach the institutions that are responsible for carrying out the various interventions.

It would as well supervise, monitor and ensure the success of these projects and also ensure the sharing of best practices.

So, in effect, the workings of SADA would ultimately do away with the current situation where the development process in the north is so haphazard and lacks direction.

For me, therefore, it thus not matter how much money government gives to the SADA secretariat, because SADA thus not need to carry out the interventions all by itself, except to ensure that funds are made available for the various initiatives.

Giving a lot of money to SADA at this crucial moment would be like putting the cart before the horse. The plans and linkages must come first, before funding is made available.

The point must, however, be made that the SADA secretariat requires some amount of funding for administrative purposes; but more importantly, it requires the support of the country’s political leadership and that of civil society and the private sector.

I dare say that the failure of SADA would start the day it begins attempting to ‘do it all’. Let us guide against this, otherwise we would get to a point one day when this body is unable to do everything and yet all others might have abandoned their roles and watching from the fence.

HARUNA DECLARES OPERATION WIN ALL 82 POLLING STATIONS

(Daily Graphic, Jan 7, 2012, page 13)

THE Minister of Communications and Member of Parliament (MP) for Tamale South, Mr Haruna Iddrisu has declared ‘operation win all 82 polling stations’ in the Tamale South constituency.

“We are declaring ‘operation win all 82 polling stations’ in Tamale South without any doubts,” he stated at the inauguration of the extension of electricity to Pagazaa, a farming community located in the south of Tamale.

Speaking to applause, he asked the people of the Northern Region not to entertain any fears of a possible mayhem in the 2012 elections.

He said he was of the firm conviction that the right thinking members of the society would prevail and prevent the violence-inclined persons from acting at will.

“In 2012, there would be no violence as some politicians are seeking to make us believe. We will go into a clean election and the Electoral Commission (EC) would declare the winners without any fuss,” he said, as he

The MP said it was the wish of some people that the elections turned violent, but noted that such pessimistic thoughts would not materialise, because a large section of Ghanaians were peace-loving.

He therefore entreated the youth not to allow themselves to be used by any politician to foment violence or fight for any selfish course.

It was a joyful ceremony as the inhabitants of Pagazaa, chiefs and elders, assembly representatives and members of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) thronged the grounds to witness the symbolic switching on of lights in Pagazaa by the MP.

Mr Iddrisu said a number of communities in his constituency had been connected to the national grid since the NDC took office and mentioned other communities that would soon be connected.

“The extension of power to Koblimahagu is on course because the project has been awarded on contract. Soon, Cheko, Jerigu, Lahagu and other communities would also be connected,” he revealed.

The MP urged people living in communities that were not connected to the national grid not to exercise patience because the government had already awarded on contract the extension of power to many rural and peri-urban communities in the region.

He made reference to the President’s approval of a US$120 million facility for the extension of electricity to 400 communities in the Northern Region and gave the assurance that this project was in progress.

On the chances of the NDC in the Tamale South constituency, Mr Iddrisu said he was absolutely confident that the NDC would retain the parliamentary seat and Prof John Evans Atta would beat Nana Akuffo Addo of the NPP by a wider margin.

The MP said he was aware of the challenges facing women in Pagazaa and assured the women that he would soon extend a hand of support to them.

The Chief Executive of the Tamale Metropolitan Assembly (TaMA), Alhaji Abdulai Haruna Friday commended Mr Iddrisu for his leadership attributes.

He said with the help of the MP, a number of development interventions including schools, roads, microfinance and energy, had been provided to many communities in Tamale south.

PEOPLE OF KUMBUNGU LAUD PRESIDENT - For giving them a district

(Daily Graphic, Nov 22, 2011, Page 13)

THE people of Kumbungu in the Northern Region have lauded the President, Prof John E. A. Mills for elevating the Kumbungu Township into a district.

They said they had long awaited such a move, but were gradually losing hope due to the failure of past political administrations to bring it into fruition.

MP, Kumbungu

They made this known at a colourful durbar organised by members of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in Kumbungu to express the party’s gratitude to the government for making Kumbungu a district.

The durbar, which was held at the centre of Kumbungu, was largely characterised by traditional dance ranging from ‘Damba’ to ‘Nabiagu’ as local drummers and Gonje-beaters dished out tune after tune to keep the event running from afternoon to evening.

Speaker after speaker spoke about the need for Kumbungu to see more investments in its infrastructure, particularly in the area of roads, schools and health facilities.

In his remarks, the Member of Parliament for Kumbungu, Alhaji Imoro Yakubu noted that Kumbungu deserved to be a district because although it had a large population, it was lacking behind in terms of development.

“Even though, the government is yet to present to Parliament the legislative instrument that will back the creation of the district for approval, we cannot wait to show our happiness and appreciation to the president for this wonderful gift,” he said.

He assured the President that the chiefs and people of Kumbungu would work together to sustain peace in the area and also support the government to implement its development programmes in the area.

The District Chief Executive (DCE) for Tolon/Kumbungu, Alhaji Iddi Manzah Mahama said the separation of Kumbungu from the Tolon/Kumbungu district would help attract more funds for development projects in both the old and new districts.

“Now Tolon and Kumbungu would get an enhanced share of the national cake and this would empower both districts to aggressively pursue the development challenges facing the two areas,” he stated.

Kumbungu is one of the biggest towns in the Tolon/Kumbungu district. It is the seat of the Kumbung-Naa, which is one of the powerful and revered traditional seats in the Dagbon Traditional Area. The current Kumbung-Naa is Naa Iddrisu Abu II, who is a prominent senior citizen.

The new Kumbungu district, which would have Kumbungu as the district capital, would also include towns like Bontanga, Dalun, Zangbalin, Zugu and Vogu.

The new assembly would have a number of development challenges to address, including fixing the poor road network linking various towns, such as Botanga to Nawuni, Kumbungu to Savelugu and Bontanga to Kasulyili.

Another priority of the new assembly would be to improve the educational standards in the area, by supporting educational institutions like the Kumbungu Senior High School, which has not received much attention for several years.