The Brong Ahafo Regional Minister on Monday reassured of the government’s determination to effectively implement the Savannah Accelerated Development Authority (SADA) initiative, for an accelerated socio-economic advancement of the northern savannah areas of the country.   

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KINTAMPO NORTH: Government steps-up efforts to bridge dev’t gap

The Brong Ahafo Regional Minister on Monday reassured of the government’s determination to effectively implement the Savannah Accelerated Development Authority (SADA) initiative, for an accelerated socio-economic advancement of the northern savannah areas of the country.   


Date Created : 12/8/2009 7:35:55 AM : Story Author : GhanaDistrict.Com

The Brong Ahafo Regional Minister on Monday reassured of the government’s determination to effectively implement the Savannah Accelerated Development Authority (SADA) initiative, for an accelerated socio-economic advancement of the northern savannah areas of the country.  

Mr Kwadwo Nyamekye-Marfo, said the government’s resolve to bridge the development gap between the north and south was not just in fulfilment of the NDC manifesto pledge but a constitutional requirement in Article 36 (2) (d).   

The article states that "the state is enjoined by the directive principles of state policy to take necessary steps to establish a sound and healthy economy through the undertaking of even and balanced development of all regions and improvement of conditions of life in the rural areas".   

Mr Nyamekye-Marfo was speaking at the opening of a one-day orientation workshop organised by the national secretariat of SADA under the office of the Vice President, for stakeholders drawn from the earmarked areas of the project in Brong Ahafo and Volta regions. 

The 30 participants included Municipal/District Chief Executives, District Planning Officers, Assembly Members, representatives of civil society and non-governmental organisations.   

It was aimed at sensitizing the stakeholders to contribute to the strategy of the development framework.   

The Northern Savannah areas comprise Upper West and East Regions, Northern Region and the 10 districts contiguous to the Northern Region in northern Brong Ahafo and northern Volta, which are Kintampo Municipality, Kintampo South, Atebubu-Amantin, Pru, Sene and Tain in Brong Ahafo as well as Krachi East and West, Nkwanta North and South districts of Volta Region.   

Mr Nyamekye-Marfo stated that these areas were known to represent the poorest sections of Ghana with between 70 and 85 per cent of the inhabitants being poor.   

He said the SADA project sought to reduce the level of those living in poverty to less than 20 per cent by 2030 and to transform the northern Savannah into a bread-basket of the country.   

The Regional Minister explained that the strategy focused on the creation of "forested and green North", to be "an area where farmers plant and reap the fruits of economic trees, while producing nutritious staple foods for domestic consumption and commercial purposes".

Dr. Sulley Gariba, Development Policy Advisor at the Office of the Vice President reiterated that the SADA initiative was a right guaranteed by the constitution and emphasized that it represented a bold response to the decaying environmental circumstances in Ghana and therefore sought to stem the impact of climate on the country.   

He said by prioritizing climate-change mitigation strategies, the initiative proposed to coordinate a multiplicity of agencies to design and implement flood control measures, through drainage of the white Volta River basin, aggressive planting of tree seedlings and progressive land development and management.

 

PF