VEEP pushes for cottage industry

Vice President, John Dramani Mahama

Vice President John Dramani Mahama has inaugurated electricity projects in three communities in the Northern Region at a total cost of GH¢ 284,000.00 with a call to initiate small scale industries.

“The electricity the government is providing is not for only domestic use, but to also support those of you who are artisans, to do your work faster than the manual system.”

Vice President Mahama, who made the call while inaugurating the projects at Makuma, Mandari and Banda-Nkwanta, all communities in the Bole District, said it was not enough for them to embrace the electricity only for lightening purposes.

“For those of you who are welders, vulcanisers and traders, I expect you to expand your trade with the coming of electricity in your community,” he said.

The three projects, which covered a total of 19.5 kilometres of high voltage poles, and 327 low voltage poles, were funded by the Ministry of Energy. All the projects started in October 2008, under the self-help electrification programme (SHEP) Four component of the rural electrification programme.

Vice President Mahama said much as the government had the responsibility to provide electricity and other social amenities to all communities of the country, the communities equally had the responsibility of protecting such amenities from disasters, and called on them to protect the wooden electricity poles from bushfires.

On security, Vice President Mahama called on community members to expose all those engaged in armed robbery, to reduce the high rate of highway robberies between Bole and Bamboi.

Mr. Moses Mabengba, the Northern Regional Minister, said the provision of electricity to the communities was part of President John Evans Atta Mills 'Better Ghana Agenda', and promised that most communities would receive their share of the national cake in due course.

“Under the 'better Ghana Agenda', you will not need to be in Accra, Tamale or Bole, or your district capital to enjoy it. It is right here in your own community for everybody to see what the government is doing,” he said.

In all the three communities, the chiefs appealed to government to provide them with potable water, good roads, post offices and police stations.

In another development Vice President John Dramani Mahama has said the new Community Health Nursing School to be established in Bole in the Northern Region would begin enrolling students in January 2012.

He said the school would begin with an initial student population of 50 girls, who would be chosen from communities in the district and beyond.

Vice President Mahama said this when he inspected a rehabilitated building of the Bole District Hospital, that would temporarily accommodate the staff and students of the Nursing School, as part of his three-day official visit to the Northern Region.

He said the school would provide an opportunity for qualified students in the district to be trained as Community Health Nurses.

“This is an opportunity that young boys and girls need to embrace, as they will not need to travel far to seek admission in similar schools, in other districts and regions of the country,” he said.

Vice President Mahama denied rumours making rounds in the Bole District that a Teacher Training College that was stipulated to be established in Bole had been diverted to Buipe, the Central Gonja District capital.

He said it was not possible for individuals to divert projects to communities of their choice, if such projects were approved from the national level, and cautioned against peddling falsehood to the people in the their communities, as that had the potential of creating division.

The Vice President gave the assurance that government in due course would establish a Senior High School in Bamboi, in the same district, to reduce pressure on schools in Bole, Wenchi and Kintampo.

He appealed to the contractor working on the Bole Community Health School block to expedite action to meet their December deadline, and to enable the school to take off on schedule in January next year.

The Vice President called on Bolewura Seidu Amankwa Gbeadese II, the Paramount Chief of Bole, and appealed to the youth to avoid bickering, acts of violence and other acts that could cause disunity.

Bolewura Seidu Amankwa Gbeadese appealed to the government to remain focused on their development projects so that all communities would receive their share of the national cake. He said he would promise to initiate programmes that would unite the youth of the area to work hard to develop the area.

GNA