NE/R : SOCO PROJECT IS NOT AN NGO BUT A PARTNERSHIP – MR YIDANA

By:Masahudu Jinkor

The North East Regional Minister Mr. Yidana Zakaria bemoaned expressions by opposition political elements that the Gulf of Guinea Northern Regions Social Cohesion, SOCO Project was not a Non-Governmental Organisation but a Government of Ghana project in partnership with the World Bank calling on the media and the general public to disregard statements being made that SOCO project communities were selected based on political affiliations. Hon. Yidana made these known during a media engagement on the Phase 1 completed SOCO projects of the North East Region in Nalerigu the regional capital.

He indicated that the project was being implemented in three components such as Infrastructure, Local Economic Development and Youth led adding that it captured 48 out of 64 Districts of the North as beneficiaries involving 1,700 communities.

Describing it as a game changer for the five regions of the north, Hon. Yidana said the five year World Bank funded project was being implemented in phases by the Government through the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development.. He also stated that the project saw the execution of 530 infrastructural subprojects across the operational area of SOCO with an estimated investment of GHC 184,777,.742.07 funded from Ghana’s USD150 million package from the USD450 million initial released for the SOCO Project.

Mr. Yidana intimated that the project was designed to address the complex challenges faced by the northern regions of the Gulf of Guinea countries such as Ghana, Cote d’Ivoire, Togo and Benin adding these regions have long been grappling with vulnerabilities as food insecurity, climate change, conflict and violence which led to high levels of fragility. He said that the aforementioned challenges made some members of the youth and communities susceptible to extremist ideologies which further exacerbated regional instability saying it was in the light of these that the SOCO project sought to support the most affected areas in Ghana’s Upper East, Upper West, Northern, North East, Savannah and Oti Regions. The minister who gave the breakdown of the 530 projects as 33 roads and culverts, 59 classroom blocks with teacher accommodations, 73 rural markets, 66 health facilities as well as 210 water systems added that the tangible impact of the project has been the over 6,200 jobs involving 3,800 unskilled labour opportunities, 2,000 skilled labour positions and 426 community facilitator roles.

Mr. Yidana further indicated that through the engagement on infrastructure sites, 3, 748 individuals had earned GHC 5,379,914 during the first year of project implementation. He added that 24,652 women with productive assets such as tools, materials and equipment received support from the project for enhance greater economic independence.

The project according to him strengthened social cohesion, peace and unity as well as efforts to prevent violent extremism especially during sensitive political periods which led to the establishment of 8 new sports facilities serving over 8,000, a platform for youth engagement and community interaction. Project organised 20 sporting events and 15 cultural festival which brought together communities fostering unity and mutual understanding.

The minister therefore called on all stakeholders including traditional rulers, opinion leaders and community members to support moves towards ensuring the sustainance of peace so as to enhance the impact of these projects on the beneficiary communities. The absence of peace according to him meant the withdrawal of World Bank support thereby spelling doom for the project communities.

Responding to some questions from the media, Mr. Alhassan Osman, a CDD/CB specialist of SOCO explained that the criteria for selecting project communities included; poverty and inclusivity, exposer to climate change risks, security risk and proximity to border among other factors.

Source – gbcuraonline.com