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31.08.2007 General News

Promote Educ. In Communities - Chiefs Urged

31.08.2007 LISTEN
By Mathew Ayoo, Dorimon

The Deputy Upper West Regional Minister, Mrs. Winifred Dy-Yakah, has called on traditional ru-lers to use their leadership positions to encourage their people to send their children, especia-lly girls, to school.

That, she said, would help them to develop their full potentials and contribute their quota to national development.

Mrs Dy-Yakah ma-de the call here on Tuesday when she accompanied the Regional Minister, George Hikah Benson, to pay courtesy calls on the paramount chiefs of Doriman and Wechiau both in the Wa West District.

She told the chiefs that as custodians of culture and tradition, they must bring their influence to bear on the people to refrain from negative cultural practices such as female genital mutilation, widowhood rites, elopement and early marriages all of which are detrimental to the proper growth and development of women.

The two are on a familiarisation tour of paramountcies in the region to acquaint themselves with problems facing the people and to discuss possible solutions to them.

They also solicited the support and co-operation of the chiefs in addressing pertinent issues militating against the progress and growth of the people.

The Deputy Minister urged the people to take advantage of the Capitation Grant and the School Feeding Programme for selected schools and send their children to school stressing that with those interventions, there was no justification for parents to deny the children education.

Mrs. Dy-Yakah said the era when the role of women as limited to the kitchen, was over and urged chiefs and opinion leaders to champion the crusade on girl-child education and also support and encourage women to accept leadership positions.

She urged men to perceive women as partners in development adding, 'men and women need to complement each others efforts to move development forward.'

She urged women to take advantage of the micro-credit scheme under the Ministry of Women and Children’s Affairs to improve their farming, trade and small-scale businesses.

The Regional Minister, for his part, asked the people to join the National Health Insurance Scheme to enjoy better health care delivery services.

He was unhappy that the region, which is among the poorest in the country and should have taken advantage of the scheme, is among those with the lowest coverage under the scheme.

Saying that the scheme is a pro-poor one and urged traditional rulers and opinion leaders to encourage their people to join the scheme to enable them to enjoy quality health care

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