The Minister for Local Government, Decentralization, and Rural Development, Daniel Botwey, is optimistic that the Gulf of Guinea Northern Regions Social Cohesion (SOCO) project will serve as a catalyst for job creation.
Mr. Botwey says the project is expected to improve access to basic social and economic services, promote local economic development, gender equality, improve environmental management, and most importantly, promote social cohesion to deal with the spillover from the Sahel region.
“It is my hope that the delivery of the SOCO Project will lead to an increase in productivity and job creation, improved access to basic services and economic opportunities, climate resilience, improved cross-border trade, and information sharing within the Gulf of Guinea Region.
This was contained in his speech at a Financial Management Training of the SOCO project held in Bolgatanga for municipal and district assemblies in the Upper East and North East regions.
The SOCO project is a US$450 million multi-country project, to be implemented in Benin, Côte D’ Ivoire, Togo, and Ghana with support from the World Bank. The Government of Ghana’s allocation is a total of US$ 150 million Credit Facility (Loan).
Ing. George Aido, National Coordinator for the SOCO project, said the financial management training was meant to offer guidelines for the assemblies to be able to implement the project at the district level.
He said it is expected that monies from the SOCO project will be transferred to the assemblies to implement developmental projects at the community level.
The Upper East Regional Minister, Stephen Yakubu, said the region, with 15 assemblies, is the highest beneficiary of the SOCO project out of the 48 participating MMDAs. With many unapproved routes in the region that expose the residents to joining Jihadist groups, the minister said it is expected that the project will provide jobs for the youth to be self-sufficient.
Mr. Yakuba said the Regional Coordinating Council will ensure that funds meant for the SOCO project are not misused or misapplied.
“The RCC will leave no stone unturned to ensure that funds meant for the implementation of the SOCO project are not misused or misapplied. In addition, the office of the Upper East Co-ordinating Council is going to institute a monthly management meeting of the project at which key management staff, including the MDCEs, will attend at the Regional Coordinating Council to review progress of the implementation”, he stated.
Source: A1Radioonline.com|101.1Mhz|Joshua Asaah|Ghana
