PREZ JOHN MAHAMA COMMISSIONED WATER PROJECT IN BUNKPURUGU From David Zamana-Bunkpurugu The President of the Republic of Ghana, His Excellency John Dramani Mahama today commissioned the Small Town Water project at Bunkpurugu in the Northern region of Ghana. The project is supported by the Canadian government and it’s meant to give portable water to residents in Bunkpurugu, the district capital of the Bunkpurugu/Yunyoo District. Naa Alhaji Abuba Nasinmong is the Paramount Chief of the Bimoba Traditional Area. In a speech read on his behalf by the chief of Nakpanduri Naa David Kansuk, expressed that, the NDC government since 2009 has done enormously well in terms of development projects. He mentioned several development projects including the Upgrading of the Two Senior High Schools, the Completion of the Assembly Complex, the Construction of the district Court, the Radio Station, and many others to be impactble to residents in the area. The Chief however, noted that, some students in the Two Senior High Schools eat outside and under Trees because of the small seize of the Dining Halls. Your Excellency, while appreciating the bold steps you are taking to address development issues in the country, we wish to remind you that, Bunkpurugu/Yunyoo District is the third largest District of the Northern region, but we are still without a District Hospital, apart from the efforts the District Assembly has put on at the site. The Chief added. Let me make once again this passionate appeal not only to me but on behalf of all the chiefs and opinion leaders of the Bimoba communities in Ghana for you to consider Bimobas in the appointment of your Ministers, Deputy Ministers, Ambassadors, Board of Directors and the likes. We have all the technocrats who are prepared and ready to serve in your committed and transparent government. We are sincerely proud of you as a son of the land and I therefore on behalf of my colleague’s chiefs of the Bimoba community and my good learned Chief of Nasuan, Yunyoo (Paramount), Temaa, Namong, Jimbali, Mangor and Binde welcome you to the District capital Bunkpurugu. The Canadian High Commissioner to Ghana explained that, Ghana and Canada have very good relations. According to the Commissioner, this project is meant to improve access to not only water but quality portable drinking water. We are working with the government of Ghana not only in Bunkpurugu area, but in several other districts across the country. He added. The commissioner pointed out that, Canada has provided over Nine hundred and thirty million dollars ($930) as development cooperation to Ghana. We are committed to work with Ghana not only in the water sector but in many other areas necessary for development especially in the remote districts. Commissioner mentioned. The Minister of Water, Resources, Works and Housing, Hon Collins Dauda, in a brief address said, since 2009, the NDC government has indicated its determination to attain water for all by 2020. This has compelled government with support from development partners to embark on several water and sanitation projects across the country and to rehabitate the existing once in other to move from the current 54 % to 74% by 2015. The Ndc government has committed .Two Hundred and Sixty US dollars ($260) for the rural water sub sector to achieve our objective. Minister added. The special guest of honor, His Excellency President John Dramani Mahama ,in his key note Address , thank the good people of the Bunkpurugu/Yunyoo District for the votes he got in the 2012 general elections. According to the President, he arrived in the district almost at night during his 2012 campaign time to meet Chiefs, Women and children happily waiting to receive him into the district. This alone to me was a clear indication that, you were geared up to vote for me and that is amongst other commitment that made me to win the 2012 general elections one touch. President noted. Mr. Chairman, I want to take this opportunity to thank all of you for that, strong and courageous support. I should have come back immediately to thank you , but as you know 2013 has been a difficult year for all of us , we had an election petition that held us down in court for almost eight (8) months and this amongst other commitments made it impossible for me. On this note I want to say a big thanks to all of you. I am very glad as the President of Ghana to see this huge gathering for which all of us are here to grace the commissioning of a Small Town Water project that would provide clinical live giving water to the community. As the chief of Bunkpurugu mentioned in his speech, water is live, without water there can be no live. The project as I said is a live giving because, this part of the region is on the savannah landscape and so we have a sharp divide between the wet season and the dry seasons, in the dry season if you have no access to water indeed your community cannot be inhabitable and so this project is a live giving project to the people of Bunkpurugu. Availability of water improves the life of people most especially our women and children, we all know that, communities where there is no access to water, women and children walk long distance to fetch water for the house hold. Mr. President The provision of water is a priority for my government and that is why we are collaborating with our development partners and agencies to ensure that people living anywhere in this country can have access to quality drinking water. We have made very significant progress in terms of this vision. The President called on residents in the District especially house owners to consider putting toilet facilities in their homes rather than just putting a single one for a number of homes/houses. Government is also committed into putting more public toilets across the country as part of our sanitation and health policies and so by way of helping your selves we encourage you to put household toilets. Mr. Chiarman, if we are able to do this across the country, we would be hitting the MDG 55% we are working at as a country. Today we are all very happy as we commissioned the water system, but for me, the question is if we come back five years from now, will the system be working efficiently and achieving the objective for which we set it up and that brings me to the question of mentainance. I see many occasions where we have with a lot of funfair commissioned water system and the management of those water projects has not leaved up to the mark. I want to add my voice to the Canadian high commissioner and say that, after the commissioning of this project today, it would be handed over to the community water and sanitation management team, this is a very big responsibility and you need to work hard to ensure this system is maintained. We must note as beneficiaries of this project that, there is a commitment levy we would have to contribute to the management of these systems, very soon you would have the management team through the District Assembly educating you about these levies and I edge you all to cooperate with the team for the smooth operations of the project. I called on the District Assembly led by my able DCE to ensure that, monitoring is done continuously for the keep fit of the equipments and the stand pipes. President John Mahama called on the people of the district to maintain peace and unity, he express that, Bunkpurugu/Yunyoo District has been in the news for all the wrongs reasons, conflicts are occurrences that give the district a very bad reputation. God knows why Bimobas, Konkombas and mamprusis are settled in this part of the region and no one should disobey the wisdom of God. The Northern, Upper East and Upper West are the poorest regions in Ghana and government is working fast in putting infrastructure development in these three regions. But we can only do it in an atmosphere of peace and unity. Nobody wants to come and work in a district where there is fighting, Teachers, Doctors, Nurses, Assembly workers etc, would not want to come and work at where there is fighting. No society can progress in an atmosphere of conflicts especially the kind of conflicts that makes us even poorer. Any time I hear the outbreak of conflict in this area, the unnecessary outcome of it is always that, people houses and properties are burnt. It is very wrong for us to continue to burn peoples hard earn properties. We have a lot we can do for you as government, but we can only do all that, if we have complete peace and unity amongst us. Several districts are gone far in terms of development and most of the Districts have development partners who are helping because they have no conflicts in their areas. Let me add that, if we want to achieve peace, we must learn to be tolerant with each other. It’s my hope that, there would never be conflict in this area anymore and forever. If we are going to hear anything about this district in the news, we should hear that, I have come to commission the road from Walewale, Nalerigu Nakpanduri through Binde to Bunkpurugu. Mr. Chiarman , the Bunkpurugu Naa in his address ,talked about your road, the Two Senior High Schools and a District hospital , let me assure you that, the road from Walewale , Nalerigu , Sakogu, Nakpanduri , Binde to Bunkpurugu will soon start work , plans are far advance as am told and I know that, it won’t be long. Let me also say that, we have already awarded to contractors one girls hostel each for the Two Senior High Schools and am setting that, the contractors would soon be at site through our Getfund programs. Indeed let me crack a joke by stating that, the NDC government is yet to launch the dining hall under trees program, as I heard in the Bunkpurugu Naba Address that, some students eat under trees. So I would plead with you students and Bunkpurugu Naba that let me get back to Accra and after meeting my Technical team at the Ministry of Education, you would hear from us about the dining halls for this two schools. I therefore thank everyone gathered here, especially the chiefs and opinion leaders for this warm reception given us. On this note I officially commissioned the Water system in Bunkpurugu. The president also commissioned the district Assembly complex before living the district. In an interview with the District Chief Executive of the area, Hon Philip N. Laari, thank the President, the Canadian high Commissioner, the Minister of Water, Resources, Works and Housing, the Northern Regional Minister and all the officials who came with the President. He assured the President of the District Assemblies readiness to monitor the usage and maintenance of this highly important water project The DCE revealed that, the District has been very peaceful now and this has been achieved through the commitment of DISEC and REGSEC. He thanked security agencies in his district and the chiefs for the cooperation given him as the DCE for the area. Hon Philip Laari stated that, the Assembly has secured the second phase of the Small Town Water Project and the people of Binde are the beneficiary. I must admit that, the NDC government led by President John Mahama is doing a lot in the district, this includes. The completion of the District Assembly , the constructions of the district court , the Town water system, the Radio Station , the New district Hospital ,the extension of electricity to more than 15 communities, the re-constructions of the Bridge linking Ghana and Togo, the construction of a new GES office complex, the construction of a new Quarters for DCD and DHD, , the construction of a police station at Nakpanduri , the upgrading of the two senior high schools , the construction of a new secondary school in the yunyoo constituency. Others the DCE mentioned are the construction of feeder roads at Namongo, Tuna 1 nd 2 to Nalerigu, Tatala 1 nd 2, Bunkpurugu-Kinkango, Nanyiar -Kambatiak, and finally the construction of the eastern corridor road from Volta region to Gushiegu through Namongo to Nakpanduri. All the above mentioned are part of the Better Ghana Agenda of the NDC. Let me use this opportunity also to thank my immediate Boss, the Northern Regional Minister for the cooperation and supports we get from him as the father of the region especially during the celebration of the Bimobas Ti Taan Di festival. I would not forget also to appreciate the team work I get from the Department heads of the district and the Assembly members as well. Hon Dr Benson Konlan Biokun, who is the Presiding Member of the Bunkpurugu/Yunyoo District and also a Senior Lecturer at the University for Development Studies (UDS) Tamale compus, thanked the President for coming and the love and care he has for the good people of the district. As the chairman of the occasion and Presiding Member of the district, Dr Benson assured President Mahama of the Assembly willingness to project government’s policies and to ensure proper accountabilities of governments funds and programs. I am aware Mr. President that, corruption is one of your priorities and we in this part of the country would play our role in helping you to achieve this vision. Dr Benson added. Hon Tahiru Jagong, a Tutor at Nakpanduri Senior High School, Hon Paul Slim, a Medical Practitioner and vice chairman of the NDC in the Bunkpurugu constituency and Hon Wuni Sugri who is the district Nadmo Coordinator, as well as vice chairman of the NDC yunyoo constituency were the Master of ceremony (MC) of the Day. The event also saw one interesting and historic incident which led in the smiles of several NDC Gurus at the gathering including the president himself. The longest serving formar Member of Parliament for the Bunkpurugu/Yunyoo Constituency Hon J.Y Labik, who is said to be one of the Lobbyists in the Papa J.J (NDC A) regime, declared his official return to the NDC party before the president. According to Hon Labik, his return is an indication that, the NDC under President John Mahama is ready and can deliver the Better Ghana Agenda every well. I assured you my president, that come 2016 we would collectively work had as NDC to collect our parliamentary seat from the NPP in this constituency for you. The President on behalf of the leadership of the NDC welcome Hon J.Y Labik back into the party as he gave him a smiling hag and hand shake on the Daze.
Posted on: Sun, 19 Jan 2014 07:30:09 +0000
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