The Minister for Inner city and Zongo Development, Boniface Abubakar Siddique, has asked the muslim community to disregard comments by the Minister of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovations, Dr. Kwabena Frimpong Boateng, appealing to them to consider using text messages in amassing their members for prayers, adding if there is any directive of that sort, it will come through his ministry.
Dr. Kwabena Frimpong Boateng at a press conference sometime back, appealed to Muslims to consider using text messages in calling their members to worship than the usual use of megaphones to avoid noise pollution in their various neighborhoods, a statement that has generated a lot of concern across the Muslim communities in the country.
But addressing journalist and Zongo Chiefs at the Bolgatanga Regional Mosque in the upper east region during his visit to inspect some projects under his Ministry in the region on Thursday, the Minister impored the Zongo Chiefs to disregard the comments made by Dr. Kwabena Frimpong Boateng,
According to Alhaji Sadik, Muslims should not take such comment serious, because the issues of Zongo lie under his ministry and not Dr Boateng.
Even though, he believes people must have misquoted Dr. Boateng, He stated that NPP as a political has no such agenda.
“NPP has in nowhere in its programmes mentioned or instructed that calling Azan should be stopped or we should use WhatsApp ‘ No’ this is a personal taught of a colleague minister who in his submission was talking about noise pollution and that when you go into market, people using loud speakers, noise is so huge and is common everywhere. You see people by the street sides, people in cars using loud speakers and is kind of a nuisance and one of the media men asked him about the azan, he said well. Azan is about 2minutes, though it could be classified that is not the major problem and I want to state it emphatically here that nowhere His Excellency Nana Akufo Addo or his vice president Dr. Bawumia instructed that Azan be done on WhatsApp or text messages. I am the messenger of the Zongo people, if there is any message to be carried to the Zongo people, it will be passed through me and there was no where we have sat on that and Frimpong Boateng in his own wisdom never said Azan should be cancelled. I know per the discussion I had with Frimpong Boateng, even in front his house there is a mosque there. So if anything, he would have started from that point, not to come out and make a kind of national announcement”. He said.
At the construction site of the 105.75 metre Zongo Sports Complex at the Bolgatanga Mobile Park, the Minister was excited seeing the progress of work and commitment shown by the contractor. He advised the contractor to use quality and better materials for what he described as a standard park for the Zongos.
According to Alhaji Saddique, the standard sport complex is to come with a 1000 liter water tank and a mechanized borehole, dressing room, valley ball court, floor lighting system and other facilities.
The Zongo Minister was convinced that the Sport facility will be of great benefit to the people of Zongo, especially during the Ramadan of Eid Al-Fitr and Eid Al-Adha. He Further stated, that the sports complex will enhance the performance of the Zongo youth who are interested in football, He cited Mohammed Gargo, Hamza Mohammed, Ali Jara, Abedi Pele and Ibrahim Sunday, as examples of Zongos who have achieved success and made history through football.
Ngamegbulam Chidozie Stephen|A1radioonline.com|Ghana
