Gov sure of improving lives of Ghanaians -Minister

Alhaji Amidu Sulemana, Upper West Regional Minister, says the government would do everything possible to make life better for all Ghanaians.

He said the government, for the past three years, had improved infrastructure in education, roads, health, agriculture, electricity and water among other sectors.

Its social interventions such as free school uniform, free exercise books and subsidies in agricultural inputs such as fertilisers were also impacting positively on the lives of the people.

Alhaji Sulemana, who was the Special Guest of Honour at the 'Kelwie' festival of the chiefs and people of the Zini Buwa Traditional Area in the Sissala West District, advised the people to be patient and bear with the government as it took steps to address the development challenges in the area.

He commended the chiefs and people for sustaining the peace, and urged them to make the festival a rallying point for unity, progress, and the development of the area.

He urged them to reflect on their actions and inactions which had the tendency to threaten the peace, and to adopt appropriate measures to co-exist peacefully with others for development.

Alhaji Sulemana appealed to the people to prioritise their developmental challenges, identify the sources of funding for those challenges, seek the necessary assistance from the relevant agencies, and also mobilise local resources to address those challenges.

He called for the rekindling of the self-help spirit among community members in undertaking development projects, as a means of achieving faster development and communal cohesion.

'It is important to uphold our culture and give it more expression in whatever we do, for the youth to learn from. The youth deserve to be groomed in such a manner that would make them capable and responsible to take over from us in the future,' Alhaji Sulemana said.

On the biometric registration exercise, Alhaji Sulemana appealed to the people to allow eligible voters to patronise the exercise freely and peacefully, and without hindrance to make it successful.

Mr. Haruna Bayirga, Member of Parliament (MP) for Sissala West, advised the people to avoid reading political meanings into disputes and other misunderstandings which were emerging from the communities.

He was unhappy about the shortage of teachers to man the classrooms in the area, and asked for a quota to be given to the district at the Tumu Teacher Training College to improve the situation.

The Dorimon Naa, Naa Sohemwineye Dana Gore II, President of the Upper West Regional House of Chiefs, who chaired the forum, announced that the House had formed a mediation committee to look into the land dispute between the Buwa Traditional Council and the people of Fielimon.

He gave the assurance that the committee would soon come out with its findings, to find an amicable settlement to the dispute to enhance peace.

Mr. Bayirga donated 20 footballs and sets of jerseys to the youth in the area to encourage them to take an interest in football. - GNA