Interesting factors contributing to underdevelopment of Upper East Region

No doubt, the Upper East Region of Ghana is a wonderful place to live in, especially with people from rich cultural practices and traditions, a region blessed with tremendous tourist sites all over.

However, in the Upper East Region, one of the unfortunate canker or if you like, a defunct micro-finance I have seen hitting the region back to back apart from defunct Diamond Winners, God is Love, Power Ground and the almighty DKM micro-finance is the lack of zeal for ‘development’ from the elites and those who are supposed to know better, I mean those elites from the Upper East Region. No wonder in my last article in October 2021, one of my resource persons from the region strongly holds the views that the region main canker is caused by the elites,

“I see our number one problem as the elite who are educated, they are the problem of the Upper East Region, not the uneducated people,” Alhaji Awal Ahmed Kariama, Executive Director at RISE-Ghana maintained.

Fortunately, Upper East Region has produced very notable individuals and personalities who should have turned things around. But sadly, the reality is that these notable, brilliant and worthy personalities mostly based outside the region, fear coming back home to help develop their own region where they are created as individual gifts and blessings from the most high.

Another interesting point bedeviling development in our communities and region is the trending attitude of our chiefs allowing themselves used by politicians by way of offering them appointments and positions in their government. To me, I have strong view that chiefs should not engage in any government activity but must use their office to lobby for development for their people and region. Chiefs must be respected by politicians for the role they play towards development.

It is the job of traditional rulers to mediate between the people and the government. It is also their role to fight for the rightful development for their people and region through their office such as the Regional House of Chiefs. Is that really the case in the Upper East Region? I guess you already know the answer?

There is a saying that: “One does not learn how to use the left hand in old age”

Yes, that is a fact. A man who decides to divert his or her children's minds away from their own region isn’t patriotic to his region. A man who does not care about the welfare of his people back home isn’t worthy to be called a native. A man who is given a good opportunity in a high office that is expected to bring development to his or her people and he or she misused the opportunity, there is no guarantee such a person will be able to bring development if given another opportunity. This is one of the predicaments bedeviling the people of the Upper East Region.

In the Upper East Region, with some allocated time,13w one could easily count around the number of storey buildings within the region compared to other regions and majority of these top buildings belong to strangers who on their own are struggling to make the region a better place for everyone.

However, mostly when you traveled to Accra or Kumasi, most modern buildings you see across are owned by someone from the Upper East region. Then, you asked yourself what could be the problem? Well, I think is our mentality.

I was so surprised and shocked in 2021 when one of the region's prominent personalities informed me during one of our phone conversations that he hasn’t visited home for 33 years and this prominent figure has children and none of them had visited home as well and I mean their father’s compound. During that conversation he was able to inform me that her daughter is due for marriage anytime she wishes because she is of age. So, you see? How will such children have their region at heart, especially when their father is careless about the region? Meanwhile, the man’s only reason was that his siblings died all as a result of family issues.

So, the parent had to travel down south for greener pastures with few of them left. So, in this case, it will definitely be a hard thing to learn how to use a left hand as an old man isn’t it? His 33 years old decision is today affecting the innocent people of his family, community, district, constituency and the region developmentally. He is the only one who was able to share that with me but I knew, there are many more with such a tough decision.

No wonder, the people of the Upper East Region are not moved by the non-availability of the Passport Office Application Center for a whole region. Because, after all those who normally travel and understand the importance of a traveling passport are living outside the region. Isn’t that regrettable as a region?

No wonder, they are not moved by the continuously failed promises by politicians. In December 2021, we were told by the Upper East Regional Minister Stephen Yakubu that the signing of a concessional loan facility of $20 million between the governments of Ghana and Saudi Arabia in 2019 for the completion of Bolgatanga Regional Hospital has been truncated and the people of Upper East are quiet and pleased with such a piece of disturbing news after years of battling on local radio stations across the region between communicators of NDC and NPP claiming who should take glory for the hospital renovation project.

Meanwhile, when I reached out to the BONABOTO Regional chairman Dr. Esmond Agurgo Balfour to know their plans following the announcement made by the regional Minister about the cancellation of the initial Bolgatanga Regional Hospital concessional loan facility of $20 million between the Ghana government and Saudi Arabia, he confirmed that they have received the information as a group.

He described the information as a piece of disappointing news. According to Dr. Agurgo, he is hoping that as an organization, they will be following up for updates locally through the Regional Minister by the end of the first quarter of 2022.

However, in this current Akufo-Addo led government, a notable number of persons from the Upper East Region are occupying some interesting hidden positions in various sectors and some are even about to be constituted as Board Members, CEOs and Deputy CEOs

But the question is, what are the contributions of these personalities given and yet to be given the opportunity to serve in various Boards on behalf of the region, do they really mean well for the region? As for CEOs, the only one so far that could easily be pointed out as very productive, caring and outstanding CEO representing the region is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Ghana's Buffer Stock Company, Alhaji Hanan Abdul-Wahab whose contribution is not hidden as far as the region is concerned. As for others, your guess is as white as snow.

Ironically, most of these personalities, that sees the region as nothing, mostly develop an appetite for political power each of every election year and starts tracing their root when they decide to contest the parliamentary seat especially on the ticket of any of the two main political parties NDC/NPP. Should that really be the case as development-oriented people?

Recommendations

1. I suggest, if we want to see more development in our various communities and even regions, then our Chiefs should stop accepting government appointments and portfolios to enable them freely hold government accountable on developmental issues. There is a saying that, you can’t bite the hand that feeds you. So in this case, any chief that is appointed by a particular governing party will never fight for his people's development when it matters most because the chief hands are in the government's mouth. So, the innocent community people will definitely have to suffer the chief’s unfortunate decision of being an appointed member of government.

2. Irrespective of the various tribes and ethnic groups in the region, the people of the Upper East Region could design a regional programme that can bring those outside the region back home and such programme will symbolize peace and unity for the region and issues of development for the region must be paramount. With these moves, their children will be happy to visit home for at least each year for the regional programme to make friends regionally for better future development.

If those interested in this movement will be able to remove the cloth of pride and pomposity, they can contact me for more ideas after all what is an in-law for?

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