Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia says the problem of the Northern parts of the country is fundamentally poverty which is underpinned by poor education, unproductive agriculture, poor infrastructure, poor health facilities among others.
He said it is against this backdrop that the government is implementing policies that will deal with these acute problems that have resulted in the widening gap of development between the north and the south.
Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia who made the assertion at the 32nd annual Samanpiid festival celebrated by the chiefs and people in the Bawku Traditional Area in the Upper East Region said Bawku continues to be a town of great interest to the Government for a number of reasons.
History has it that a little over four decades ago there was no town in the North that could surpass Bawku in terms of ingenuity of the people, the type of brisk business and the ever growing nature of the town.
As a result of the persistent communal conflict, the town nearly became a shadow of itself. The children’s education was indeed nearly jeopardized as teachers and other workers preferred to work in other places aside Bawku.
It also led to a huge expenditure to maintain peace at the expense of development of the area. Vice President Bawumia said it is however, gratifying to note that, Bawku is back to its normal status and their people are going about their educational, economic and social activities in peace and harmony and this gives government a great sigh of relief as it rolls out policies and programmes to bring smiles on the faces of our people.
He congratulated the good people of Bawku especially the Inter- Ethnic Peace Committee for working tirelessly to bringing them this far and urged them never to go back to the dark days.
Vice President Bawumia reiterated the Akufo-Addo administration’s resolve to ensure holistic national development by paying particular attention to the northern parts of the country, which have historically lagged behind their southern counterparts.
Vice President Bawumia stated that the north has been left behind for a very long time, but under Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, they are going to make sure there is a major transformation in the northern regions of the country, all the five northern regions. Narrowing it down to the infrastructure and other interventions taking place in the Bawku area and the Upper East Region as a whole, Vice President Bawumia outlined a long list of projects including structures for the Bawku Senior High Technical, Bolga Girls Senior High, Zuarungu Senior High, Kusanaaba Senior High, Kongo Senior High, and Zamse Senior High.
Turning to roads, Vice President Bawumia told the Bawku-Naba that President Akufo-Addo’s promise to construct the Bolga-Bawku-Pulmokan road is on course, and the contractors had assured him, after a stop-over in Zebilla to inspect ongoing works, that the entire stretch from Bolga to Bawku would be completed by July 2020.
The Samanpiid festival was bequeathed to the people of Kusaug Traditional area by their ancestors as post-harvest activity, meant to thank God and ancestral spirits fir guiding them successfully through the farming season.
It is usually characterised by ritual ceremonies, merry-making and other cultural displays. This was in the past done rotationally among the various clans in Kusaug.
The current celebration is a modernized version of the old. The exigencies of their modern way of living has given rise to the improvements made in the celebration in order to take account of developmental issues and progress of society in their modern world.
In his welcome address, the Paramount Chief of the Bawku Traditional Area, Zug-Raan Naaba Abugrago Asigri Azorka, commended government for the various policies it is implementing which is aimed at enhancing the living conditions.
He appealed to government to complete the construction of the Bolgatanga-Bawku-Pulmakom road and the ongoing construction of the Tamde Irrigation dam in Garu.
He also assured government of safeguarding the peace the people in the Bawku Traditional area are currently enjoying.
He said ever since their senseless conflict ended some years ago, they have based their priority on the healing of wounds and mending of fences in broken relationships. He said it is now time for them to embark on vigorous pursuit of economic and social development of the people in the area.
The Paramount chief said his outfit believes that when government sees their people seriously engaged in developmental efforts they will naturally hasten to support them. He said in the area of peace, a lot has already been achieved internally.
Thanks to the support of government, the security services, his sub-chiefs, queen mothers, Bawku-inter-Ethnic peace committee. Zug-Raan Naaba Abugrago Asigri Azorka appealed to government to create a new district out of the Bawku West District.
He called on government to consider constructing a district hospital in Binduri, Pusiga, Tempane, and Garu.
Speakers at the event called on the people in the area to embrace peace. This, they noted will go a long way to bring more developmental projects into the area.
Former President John Dramani Mahama and the General Secretary of the NDC, Johnson Asiedu-Nketiah who graced the occasion received a rousing welcome by the chiefs and people in the Kusaug Traditional Area.
The 32nd annual Samanpiid festival was on the theme, “Harnessing the Economic, Social and Cultural Heritage of Our People for the Development of Kusaug.”
Story filed by Samuel Ayammah.
