UE WILL MEET MDGs ON ROADS
UE WILL MEET MDGs ON ROADS August 27, 2010
BY P. A WEDAM
ISD-BOLGATANGA MUNICIPAL
The Upper East regional minister, Mr. Mark Owen Woyongo has stated that government is poised to achieving the Millennium Development Goals in the road sector. In this regard, a number of contracts have been awarded for various works on roads in the Upper East region.
The regional minister was speaking during the regional hosting of the meet-the-press series held in Bolgatanga. In a presentation dubbed the state of the Upper East region, Mr. Woyongo noted that over the past 20 months that National Democratic Congress assumed power, it has commenced and completed spot improvement works on 79 kilometres of road and reshaped 184 kilometres of feeder roads.
A further reshaping of 125 kilometres of road and surfacing of 14.4 kilometres is on-going. Also, bitumen surfacing of town roads in the Bolgatanga municipality has started and is expected to be completed by October this year. Furthermore, a number of steel bridges are being constructed across the region to link districts and communities.
Touching on health, the regional minister disclosed that 172 health facilities including six hospitals, 38 clinics, 88 CHPS Compounds, 39 health centres and 1 maternity home exist in the region. Out of the total number, 146 health facilities are owned and operated by government, 12 by the missions, 13 by private persons while only one is owned by quasi government.
Notwithstanding the presence of these health facilities, Mr. Woyongo said the state of health delivery in the region is one of the worst in the country especially with respect to health personnel. According to him, the current doctor-patient ratio of 1:34,000 is unacceptable in the twenty-first century. Also, most of the health facilities are either in a state of disrepair or are stocked with obsolete equipment.
He said as a measure to address the manpower deficit in the health sector, all district assemblies in the Upper East region have been directed to sponsor at least five students each into the medical schools and bond them to serve their respective districts after completion. In the short term however, the regional coordinating council is appealing to all sons and daughters of the region in the health profession to return home to offer some services to their home region. In addition to this appeal is the on-going construction of a number of various types of health infrastructure across the region.
Mr. Woyongo’s presentation also touched on education, food and agriculture, the National Youth Employment Programme [NYEP] and water and sanitation under which he revealed that government has secured five million US Dollars and 40 million Euros for expansion of the Vea Water treatment plant and construction of another water treatment plant at Tono to serve Navrongo, Paga and Bolgatanga respectively.
The Information Minister, Honourable John Tia Akologo who chaired the function said the Mills’-led administration decided to decentralise the the-meet-press programme so as to allow for each region to tell its story with regards to development in all areas. He said government has made a lot of achievements under two years since assuming office citing the enhanced capitation grant, increased coverage of the school feeding programme and a stabilised economy which has wooed many international investors to the country.
Honourable Tia Akologo who is also the MP for the Talensi Constituency urged municipal and district chief executives in the region to organise similar meet-the-press programmes in their assemblies to educate the local people on development projects and other achievements of government.
In response to a question from the media, a Deputy Information Minister, Mr. James Agyenim Boateng said contrary to speculations that the National Democratic Congress will scrap the NYEP, it has rather added new modules to it thereby giving opportunity for more youth to gain employment.
All nine districts in the region mounted exhibition of development projects in their areas.
The Member of Parliament for Garu-Tempane, Hon. Dominic Azumah on behalf Upper East caucus in parliament used the occasion to present a checque for 13,000 Ghana Cedis to the Upper East@50 secretariat to carry out some of the planned activities marking the region’s 50th anniversary.
BY P. A WEDAM
ISD-BOLGATANGA MUNICIPAL
The Upper East regional minister, Mr. Mark Owen Woyongo has stated that government is poised to achieving the Millennium Development Goals in the road sector. In this regard, a number of contracts have been awarded for various works on roads in the Upper East region.
The regional minister was speaking during the regional hosting of the meet-the-press series held in Bolgatanga. In a presentation dubbed the state of the Upper East region, Mr. Woyongo noted that over the past 20 months that National Democratic Congress assumed power, it has commenced and completed spot improvement works on 79 kilometres of road and reshaped 184 kilometres of feeder roads.
A further reshaping of 125 kilometres of road and surfacing of 14.4 kilometres is on-going. Also, bitumen surfacing of town roads in the Bolgatanga municipality has started and is expected to be completed by October this year. Furthermore, a number of steel bridges are being constructed across the region to link districts and communities.
Touching on health, the regional minister disclosed that 172 health facilities including six hospitals, 38 clinics, 88 CHPS Compounds, 39 health centres and 1 maternity home exist in the region. Out of the total number, 146 health facilities are owned and operated by government, 12 by the missions, 13 by private persons while only one is owned by quasi government.
Notwithstanding the presence of these health facilities, Mr. Woyongo said the state of health delivery in the region is one of the worst in the country especially with respect to health personnel. According to him, the current doctor-patient ratio of 1:34,000 is unacceptable in the twenty-first century. Also, most of the health facilities are either in a state of disrepair or are stocked with obsolete equipment.
He said as a measure to address the manpower deficit in the health sector, all district assemblies in the Upper East region have been directed to sponsor at least five students each into the medical schools and bond them to serve their respective districts after completion. In the short term however, the regional coordinating council is appealing to all sons and daughters of the region in the health profession to return home to offer some services to their home region. In addition to this appeal is the on-going construction of a number of various types of health infrastructure across the region.
Mr. Woyongo’s presentation also touched on education, food and agriculture, the National Youth Employment Programme [NYEP] and water and sanitation under which he revealed that government has secured five million US Dollars and 40 million Euros for expansion of the Vea Water treatment plant and construction of another water treatment plant at Tono to serve Navrongo, Paga and Bolgatanga respectively.
The Information Minister, Honourable John Tia Akologo who chaired the function said the Mills’-led administration decided to decentralise the the-meet-press programme so as to allow for each region to tell its story with regards to development in all areas. He said government has made a lot of achievements under two years since assuming office citing the enhanced capitation grant, increased coverage of the school feeding programme and a stabilised economy which has wooed many international investors to the country.
Honourable Tia Akologo who is also the MP for the Talensi Constituency urged municipal and district chief executives in the region to organise similar meet-the-press programmes in their assemblies to educate the local people on development projects and other achievements of government.
In response to a question from the media, a Deputy Information Minister, Mr. James Agyenim Boateng said contrary to speculations that the National Democratic Congress will scrap the NYEP, it has rather added new modules to it thereby giving opportunity for more youth to gain employment.
All nine districts in the region mounted exhibition of development projects in their areas.
The Member of Parliament for Garu-Tempane, Hon. Dominic Azumah on behalf Upper East caucus in parliament used the occasion to present a checque for 13,000 Ghana Cedis to the Upper East@50 secretariat to carry out some of the planned activities marking the region’s 50th anniversary.
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