EXPANDED REGIONAL COORDINATING COUNCIL, TOGETHER WITH DEVELOPMENT PARTNERS, INTERFACE MEETING IN NORTH EAST REGION.
In compliance with section 191(1) of the Local governance act, 2016, Act 936, which enjoins Regional Coordinating Councils to convene twice in a year, at least, and also provide space for the conduct of further meetings deemed imperative to discuss, deliberate or legislate on matters on the Region’s development interest, the North East Regional Coordinating Council held it’s Expanded RCC, together with Development Partners interface meeting in the Region on the 29th November, 2024 at the main conference Hall of the Regional Coordinating Council (RCC) in Nalerigu, the Regional Capital.
The Council meeting, apart from the substantive members, also drew attendees from Development Partners who have invaluably contributed and are still contributing to the development agenda of the Region.
Representatives from the mainstream constituents of the RCC such as Presiding members, Municipal and District Chief Executives, Representatives from the Mamprugu Traditional Council, the Security Services and various Heads of Departments were present.
Other Attendees from Civil Society Organisations, Development Partners and NGOs such as Global communities, PARED, KOICA, UNICEF within the Region were in attendance and took turns to make statements bordering on their commitment to keep supporting the Region’s developmental agenda as possible as they can.
In his state of the Region’s address to his audience, the Regional Minister, Hon. Yidana Zakaria, underscored the need for the House or Council to meet and address lingering issues and to account and assess progress made so far , to the citizens in his tenure of administration.
According to him, with the General elections rapidly approaching, there was the need to call the meeting to enable all Stakeholders to discuss the relevant matters of concern and to put the Council in order.
Under the Government flagship programme “PLANTING FOR FOOD AND JOBS”, Hon. Zakaria stated that Government assisted a total of 16,413 farmers this year in the areas of landscape restoration,small-scale mining projects,seedlings and other farm inputs such as cashew,mahogany, cassia,bamboo among others.
Other benefits also came in the form of supporting farmers with maize seedlings,soya beans,Cowpea, insecticide, fertilizers, checking wire mesh, and binding wires distributed to farmers.
In all a total of 50,193 farmers received improved farming technologies in 2024 alone.
Capacity building training and seminars were also organised for facilitators to the benefit of some farmers.
Hon. Zakaria, in the area of health, mentioned that deworming exercises, between the third and fourth quarters of this year, were organised by the Regional Health Directorate for a large majority of school children successfully.
He stated that, with the benevolence of the donation of tricycle ambulances from KOICA , training was conducted in all the beneficiary Districts on how to effectively use them to attend to emergency health services.
The Regional Minister also added that, before the establishment of North East Region, there were only two major health facilities in the Region, namely Baptist Hospital and Walewale Hospital. He hinted that in the very near future the Region will be benefiting from a Regional Hospital through the support of KOICA and UNICEF. “Preparations are far advanced in this regard”, he said.
Hon. Zakaria also highlighted the Commission ed Recycling and Composte Plant in Sagadugu Community in West Mamprusi Municipal, which is not to only serve the purpose of disposing off waste but also create employment for the teeming youth and improve the Sanitation situation in the Region.
Hon. Zakaria enumerated a few milestones in Education in the Region, such as the completion and handing over of the new Regional Education Office Complex, increased enrollment into Early childhood
support policy under GES Lively Minds Programme and the Youth to provide solid foundation for their educational journey.
Also, under his administration, according to him, he has been blessed to receive massive expansion of educational infrastructure from the basic school level to the tertiary level, citing Nasuan, Gbintiri, Walewale, Binbago, Yunyoo and Kubori as beneficiary communities.
Other achievements of his administration focused on upgrading access roads to markets,health centres, schools and difficult-to-reach communities.
The Regional Minister, Hon. Zakaria, expressed gratification in the developmental gains derived from the Gulf of Guinea Social Cohesion Project (SOCO), especially in the Health and Education sectors.
He said that it will never have been possible to generate revenue at the local level to fund such development projects.
He concluded by strongly appealing to all and sundry to be agents of peace in this election year so as to sustain our hard earned democratic gains and rather build on our gains.