THE Government in collaboration with donor countries and agencies is undertaking a project to open up the Afram Plains, now known as the Kwahu North District, to exploit its enormous agricultural potential.
Under the project, about 200 kilometres of feeder roads would be constructed this year while farmers in the area would be given adequate farming skills to enable them to increase production.
The venture is aimed at cultivating 3,000 acres of maize this year, in the area described as the bread basket of the Eastern Region.
The Eastern Regional Minister, Mr Kwadwo Affram Asiedu, made this known at the Meet-the-Press session in Koforidua.
The event, the second in a series to be organised by the Regional Co-ordinating Council (RCC), was attended by the Deputy Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mr Frank Agyekum; the Deputy Eastern Regional Minister, Mr Ofosu Asamoah, as well as municipal and district chief executives (MDCEs), heads of ministries, departments and agencies in the region.
The regional minister said since agriculture was vital to the socio-economic development of the region and employed about 67 per cent of the population, the government, through the Ministry of Food and Agriculture and other organisations, had been assisting farmers in the area with the necessary inputs to ensure food security.
He said to reduce poverty in the region and the country as a whole, the government had been implementing the Community-Based Rural Development Project to improve the income levels of rural folks to enable them to raise their standard of living.
Mr Affram Asiedu stated that the provision of various social amenities such as the construction of health posts, school buildings, boreholes, markets and roads, currently going in the communities, would enhance the socio-economic development of the area.
With regard to education, he said since it remained pivotal to the development of the area, the government had provided public schools in the region with the necessary facilities, which had resulted in significant increases in enrolment in the kindergarten (KG), primary and senior high schools (SHS).
For instance, he said, enrolment at the KG level rose from 1,792 in 2007 to 1,872 this year while that of the primary schools soared from 2,153 in 2007 to 2,406 this year with junior high schools recording an increase of 1,387 this year as against 1,229 last year.
To enhance teaching and learning, Mr Affram Asiedu said the government through the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund), had supplied all the schools in the region with furniture as well as teachers’ tables and chairs.
He added that three SHS in the region, namely Aburi Girls, Krobo Girls and St. Roses, had been provided with Nissan Pick-Up vehicles.
“The significant increases in enrolment in the basic schools have been partially attributed to the introduction of the Capitation Grant and the School Feeding programmes by the government on pilot basis in some selected schools,” he said, adding that the gesture would soon be extended to other schools in the region.
The regional minister, however, expressed worry about the large number of untrained teachers in the region, stressing “out of the 25,020 teachers in the region 6,600 were untrained.
He said the municipal and district assemblies in the region had been directed to sponsor teacher-trainees in the various Colleges of Education, after which the beneficiaries would be bonded to teach in their respective districts after completing their courses.
On security, Mr Affram Asiedu said since it was important in the development of the region, the Regional Co-ordinating Council (RCC), in collaboration with security agencies and the municipal and district assemblies had taken up the necessary measures to maintain peace in the area.
He, however, stated that a number of negative factors, such as the unexplained murders within the Suhum township, chieftaincy and land disputes, armed robberies, illegal mining and chain saw operations as well as activities of nomadic herdsmen and their cattle, had undermined the peace of the region.
To contain the situation, he said the security agencies, which had been provided with vehicles and communication gadgets, had increased highway and foot patrols, especially in crime-prone areas and at checkpoints to apprehend suspected criminals.
Such a strategy, Mr Affram Asiedu said, had yielded positive results by decreasing crime and created an enabling environment for the people to do their businesses without fear or intimidation.
With regard to health, he said the implementation of the National Health Insurance Scheme in the region had made it possible for about 937,338 people registered with it out of the region’s total population of 2,196,696 to access quality and affordable heath care.
The regional minister, however, expressed his dissatisfaction with the limited number of health personnel in the area, which he said, did not match the increasing number of patients.
He also expressed regret about the high prevalence rate (4.2 per cent) of HIV/AIDS in the region.
Mr Affram Asiedu, however, indicated that with the support of stakeholders, the rate of infection was reducing and advised the people, especially the youth to adopt responsible lifestyles in order not to contract the disease.
For his part, Mr Agyekum reiterated the government’s commitment to cushion Ghanaians against the increases in food and oil prices, due to global trends, adding “we must learn to consume our own locally produced food instead of depending on exported ones.”
No comments:
Post a Comment