Proposed Eastern Corridor Road Network to commence soon-Says Vice President

A section of the crowd at the festival

Dignitaries present   

Narration: Government is speeding up preparation to embark on the proposed Eastern Corridor road that links the Upper East Region through Garu to Kulungugu. Other priority road earmarked for construction next year include the Bolgatanga-Bawku, Bolgatanga-Bongo, Winkongo-Tongo, Bawku-Pusiga, Sandema-Wiesi as well as the Bolgatanga-Naaga-Kadema roads among others. The Upper East Regional Minister, Mark Woyongo who announced this said the move forms part of government’s effort in addressing the developmental imbalances in the Savannah regions captured under the Savanna Accelerated Development Authority (SADA). Mr Woyongo was delivering a speech on behalf of Vice President, John Dramani Mahama at the 24^th Annual Samanpid Festival of the chiefs and people of the Bawku Traditional Area. It was on the theme:  “Sustaining Peace for Progressive Cultural Development in Kusaug”, Isaac Asare has more for Radio Ghana.

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The annual Samanpiid festival is a traditional post-harvest thanksgiving event meant to thank God and the ancestral spirits for a successful farming season. It is also an occasion to take stock of the past and draw useful lessons against the future. It is also a period during which sons and daughters of the Kusaug traditional area both home and abroad renew their allegiance, unity, love and solidarity for the essence of peace. This year’s event attracted eminent personalities including chiefs and ministers of state amidst heavy security presence. The Vice President, in a speech read for him by Mr Woyongo, described the theme for this year’s occasion as timely and appropriate considering the current prevailing peace enjoyed by the people. He said the violent conflict that erupted in Bawku was not only a source of worry to residents in the area, but also all peace loving Ghanaians and prayed for peace to be sustained. Many, he noted had been greatly affected by the conflict and appealed to the people to give peace a chance to pave way for speedy development. This, he said, calls for dedicated and concerted effort by all since development cannot thrive in a conflict environment. Touching on the impact of the conflict on education, Mr Woyongo said academic performance of student’s in the area continues to decline, citing the performance of pupils at last year’s BECE, describing it as abysmally poor. He disclosed that out of 163 municipalities and districts nationwide, the Bawku Municipality was ranked 154^th, a situation, he observed leaves a cause to worry and challenged the people not to allow conflict to destroy the future of their children. Mr. Woyongo therefore charged parents to make education of their wards their outmost priority by ensuring that relative peace is sustained. Mr. Woyongo later seized the opportunity to outlined various government’s interventions aimed at creating employment opportunities for the rural poor and mentioned the Ghana Social Opportunities Projects (GSOP) of which six districts excluding the municipalities are beneficiaries. On SADA, Mr Woyongo assured the people of government’s readiness to bridge the developmental gap between the south and the savanna regions of the north through massive infrastructural development and creation of economic opportunities. He mentioned the eastern corridor roads and the construction and rehabilitation of dams as some of the critical areas captured under SADA programme. The Zug-Raan Bawku Naba, Asigri Abugrago Azoka commended the government, security agencies and bodies for contributing to the peace building effort in Bawku. He said efforts are being made to ensure relative peace in Bawku and called on both factions to iron out their differences and unite as brothers and sisters. He said as 2012 elections draws closer, people should not hide behind legitimate political campaigns to prosecute their own agenda but rather exercise restraint, tolerance and co-exist peacefully for development. Zug-Raan Bawku Naba later reminded government to as a matter of urgency deal with the Bawku-Bolgatanga highway, which he lamented is fast becoming a death trap to travelers. The Majority Leader in Parliament, Cletus Avoka and the Council of State Member for the Upper East, Rev. Bishop Jacob Kofi Ayeebo called for the sustenance of peace in the area. An appeal for fund towards the Bawku Naba Education Endowment Fund was held to raise funds to assist brilliant but needy students in the municipality.

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