UE/R : 20TH ZEKULA FESTIVAL, MY FIRST FESTIVAL ATTENDED IN THE REGION AS REGIONAL MINISTER – DR. HAFIZ BIN-SALIH

By- Masahudu Jinkor

The Upper East Regional minister Dr. Hafiz Bin-Salih re-echoed government’s commitment to resolving the Bawku conflict which remained the biggest challenge of the government adding that government intended a permanent resolution to the decades conflict so as to bring back to normalcy the one-time business hub of the region.

The regional minister made these known during the celebration of the 20th Annual Zekula Festival of the chiefs and people of the Bissa community of Ghana held at Kulungugu in the Pusiga District of the Upper East Region.

He stated that the threat of terrorism in the Sahel was of concern to our Internal and National Security more especially in our border communities such as Pulimakom and Kulungungu which have since been inundated with immigrants from Burkina Faso and Togo, hence the need to monitor people movements
and report suspicious characters to the security agencies as contained in the slogan “See Something, Say
Something”.

On security he said government had beefed up security in terms of Military and Police to forestall any security breach saying government established Two Military Battalions in the region; thus 11th Mechanised Battalion located in Bolgatanga, responsible for Upper East and the North East Regions, and the 12th Mechanized for Upper East and Upper West located in Sandema in the Builsa North Municipality of the Upper East Region.

Dr. Bin-Salih praised the security agencies saying they have showed determination to adhere to their constitutional mandate of protecting the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the country against any form of aggression. All what they require from us as community stakeholders is our unalloyed support with our native intelligence. He urged all border community residents to be vigilant and weary of these insurgence and to report any suspicious moves within our communities.

He indicated that the region was also àààendowed with both natural and man-made resources such as water bodies, mineral deposits, rocks and clay for ceramic production. In light of this, it has huge potentials for agricultural productivity adding agriculture remained the mainstay of our people and Government was determined
to ensure that the sector occupies its rightful place in the economy with the implementation of the Planting for Food and Jobs (PFJ) Phase II to complement the gains made in Phase One. He therefore called on farmers within the communities to take advantage of the ongoing farmer registration under the PFJ II to register as they stand to benefit.

On Agenda 111 hospital projects he noted that eight districts of the region were beneficiaries of these complete hospital projects of which the Pusiga District was one. He said many of these projects were at various stages of completion aimed at enhancing the healthcare delivery to the masses.

The minister announced that the Gulf of Guinea Northern Regions Social Cohesion (SOCO) project being
implemented in 48 districts of the country of which all the 15 districts of the region were beneficiaries adding it is a 5-year World Bank funded project with a total project amount of 150 million US dollars. He described the project as a game changer for the people of the north and for that matter the Upper East Region if well implemented.

He said a total of 232 physical sub-projects and over 100 software projects on local economic development aimed at equipping women with employable skills as well as the youth are being implemented across the 15 districts of the region in 2023. Out of this number he said, ten (10) physical sub-projects and 2 software projects were being implemented in the Pusiga District with a total amount of Five Million Twenty-One Thousand Fourteen Ghana Cedis (GHS5,021,014.00) was released to the District Assembly for the implementation of the 2023 sub-projects. For the 2024, 17 sub-projects and 9 software projects were to be implemented with an amount of Eleven
Million, Eighty-Two Thousand, Three Hundred and Sixty-Six Ghana Cedis; Eleven Pesewas (GHS11,082,366.11) to
be released soon to cater for the 2024 sub-projects. He also said that 132 persons have also been employed under the SOCO project as Community Facilitators and given motor bikes
and tablets to facilitate their reports.

Source – gbcuraonline.com