Upper East Regional Minister, Hon. Rockson Ayine Bukari has appealed to Municipal and District Assemblies [MDAs] in the region to devote funds for the acquisition of land banks in their areas of jurisdiction so as to have ready and easy access to land whenever investors come looking for places to set up.
The Minister, who made the appeal in his address to an emergency meeting of the Bongo District Assembly this Friday to elect a Presiding Member [PM], also emphasised that government had resolved to execute a private sector-led growth strategy which will open up massive job avenues for a chunk of youth across the country. In this direction, he disclosed that the 2017 budget set aside an amount of 50 million US Dollars to revamp small-scale businesses throughout the country.
Mr. Bukari also charged private sector operators and other entrepreneurs to bring up business proposals that have the capability of employing the countrys youth as well as those that can buy up local produce for manufacturing and production of finished goods as this will further create several hundreds of jobs in the production chain. He pledged that per government’s one district, one factory policy, respective sector ministries will be willing to support any such ventures that dove-tail into the ideals of the policy.
According to him, the Nana Addo-led administration is committed to implementing its manifesto religiously so as to bring relief to the people of Ghana. He mentioned for instance that the one village one dam pledge among other carefully though-out policy initiatives will give a rapid boost to the agricultural sector. He explained that the purpose of this pledge was to provide water for all-year-round farming targeted at reducing poverty, increasing the incomes of farmers and as well, arrest rural-urban migration of youth especially, from northern Ghana to the south in search of non-existent jobs.
The emergency assembly meeting, however, was unable to elect a presiding member to lead the house in its subsequent meetings as well as in the execution of other statutory works allocated to it by the 1992 Constitution of Ghana.
Three of the 56 honourable members who make up the Assembly, first contested but none made the mark of two-thirds majority. Hon. Joseph Abaa Akansake withdrew in the second round of voting while Hon. Duke Anaba from the Bongo Central Electoral Area and Hon. Adendaa Andrew representing the Namoo Electoral Area polled 27 and 24 votes respectively. A candidate needed at least 37 votes to emerge the victor.
The Regional Minister, who devoted a good portion of the day to sit through the two rounds of elections, described the day’s event as a sophisticated exhibition of democracy.
He, however, appealed to the Assembly Members to do effective consultation in order to have a successful election of the PM on its next attempt. He cautioned The choices we make today can either facilitate or retard our efforts. Our love for this district should take precedence over all other considerations.
By: Adugbire Cletus/a1radioonline.com/Ghana
