The Chief Executive Officer of the Northern Development Authority (NDA), Dr Alhassan Sulemana Anamzoya, says, the authority, has initiated the construction of over 2,000 infrastructural projects within the Northern enclave to propel the development of the North.
The initiative according to him, forms part of government’s efforts to bridge the developmental gap between the North and the South.
Speaking at the Northern Ghana Development Summit in Bolgatanga organized by Star-Ghana Foundation, Dr Anamzoya, said, government was committed to developing the north and creating jobs for the youth.
“In pursuit of this one million per constituency policy, the Ministry of Finance released a conditional approval of GHS1,724,383,246.15 to all three development authorities. Out of this amount, the Northern Development Authority was allocated GHS266,760,000”.
“This has enabled the NDA to initiate more than 2,000 projects and has successfully awarded and handed over sites to contractors throughout northern Ghana. This has created an estimated 15,000 short term jobs to all kinds of artisans across Northern Ghana. As we speak, contractors are busily constructing roads, hospitals school blocks, chip compounds, market centres, snake bite centres, community centres, boreholes, bridges, and supplying school furniture across the Northern enclave”.
Dr Anamzoya was optimistic with the commencement of the Pwalugu multi-purpose dam project which when completed will not only provide 110MW of electricity for Northern Ghana but also create sustainable jobs through the agricultural value chain.
He, however, appealed to Northern Ghanaians in the diaspora to return home with their skills and resources to support propel the development of the North.
“Northern Ghanaians everywhere in the world have a responsibility to come home with their talents, skills and financial muscles to help develop Northern Ghana. At the same time, I urge my fellow Northern Ghanaians at home to be prudent in handling, and modest in spending resources that are sent to us by our siblings outside the country either to help them put up their houses or create business opportunities. Our judicious use of such resources can actually be the basis of trust-building and development in Northern Ghana”.