Northern Patriots in Research and Advocacy (NOPRA), a civil society organization based in the three northern regions has called on Ghanaians, particularly those from the Northern savannah to vote massively for the party with a high level of commitment for total economic transformation of the northern parts of Ghana.
In a press release signed by its Executive Director Bismark Ayorogo, the organization lamented over the lagging behind of the north’s development, and blamed it on the persistent and consistent lack of political will to aggressively embark on economic transformation of the area.
The statement noted that successive governments have only paid lip service to policies and programmes meant to accelerate the socio-economic development of the northern half of the country.
“The continuous neglect of the north which has huge development potentials and untapped economic resource including mineral deposits, oil and unlimited opportunities in agriculture has serious implications on the overall development of Ghana. For instance, the agricultural sector growth rate continuously to decline and food insecurity and hunger are worsening”
It acknowledged that between 1994 and 2013 total public investment in the northern part of Ghana was less than 1%. The effect of this is that while the number of poor people in the southern part of the country got reduced by 2.5million, the number of poor people in northern Ghana increased by almost 1milion.
It called on citizens of Ghana especially the citizens from the three northern regions to critically examine the manifesto of each of the political parties to find out whether or not they have a clear vision and well-articulated plan for the total transformation of the their wellbeing.
Below is the full statement:
NORPRA URGES GHANAIANS TO VOTE FOR A POLITICAL PARTY THAT COMMITS TO ECONOMIC TRANSFORMATION OF THE NORTHERN PARTS OF GHANA
Northern Patriots in Research and Advocacy (NORPRA) is calling on the good people of Ghana particularly those from the northern savannah areas to properly interrogate the intended policies and programmes contained in competing political parties’ manifestoes for this year’s elections and vote massively for the party with a high level of commitment to total economic transformation of the northern parts of Ghana.
Northern Ghana continuous to lag behind the rest of the country in development and what mainly accounts for the situation is persistent and consistent lack of political will to aggressively embark on economic transformation of the area. Successive governments of Ghana only paid lip service to pro-poor policies and programmes meant to accelerate socioeconomic development of the northern half of the country.
The continuous neglect of the north which has huge development potentials, untapped economic resources including mineral deposits, oil and unlimited opportunities in agriculture has serious implications on the overall development of Ghana. For instance, the agricultural sector growth rate continuous to decline and food insecurity and hunger are worsening.
Research has shown that between 1994 and 2013 total public investment in the northern part of Ghana was less than 1%. The effect of this is that while the number of poor people in the southern part of the country got reduced by 2.5million, the number of poor people in northern Ghana increased by almost 1milion.
For Ghana to reduce inequalities, end poverty and hunger in the foreseeable future and in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), there is the urgent need for all seeking power to strongly commit to making substantial investment in the northern savannah ecological zone for vigorous agricultural-led transformation with strong linkage to industrialization.
It is important to remind all that the South-North Development Gap of Ghana still exists and NORPRA and many civil society organizations are wondering why competing political parties in this year’s elections are not making it a major campaign issue as was the case in 2008 and 2012.
For this reason, NORPRA is urging citizens of Ghana to critically examine the manifesto of each of the political parties to find out whether or not they have a clear vision and well-articulated plan for the total transformation of the northern part of Ghana into a place of opportunity free from poverty. This should form the basis for our informed choices of parties and candidates in this year’s election.
Ayorogo Adongo Bismark
(Executive Director)
By: Ngamegbulam Chidozie Stephen | A1RADIOONLINE.com | GHANA
