Minister Urges MMDCES To Generate Own Revenu

Bede Ziedeng

The seemingly sheer lack of innovative skills by some Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives in the Northern Region of Ghana, perhaps due to their inability to think outside the box, has over the years dragged the progress of their Assemblies backwards despite the many opportunities that surrounds them, the Northern Regional Minister thinks.

According to Bede Aawotaazumo Ziedeng, it was important for Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) to continuously remind themselves of their mandate to mobilize resources to make life better for their people. “What the people desire is progress and development and we should not take them for granted”, he cautioned.

Speaking at a meeting with newly appointed and outgoing MMDCEs/Presiding Officers as well as some heads of government institutions in the health, education and agric sector in the Region, Mr. Ziedeng said some of these Assemblies had over the years relied solely on external sources of funding including District Assemblies Common Fund, District Development Fund as well as other donor funding in order to provide development projects for their people.

“It is important for Assemblies to give utmost attention to the mobilization of their own resources rather than solely relying on external sources. It is regrettable that most Assemblies have virtually relegated their internally generated revenue to the background of their activities and are only too quick to budget for projects that rely on external sources”, the minister observed.

Mr. Ziedeng disclosed that, in 2012 revenue generation in MMDAs in the region averaged 76.1 percent which was an increase of 17 percent from the previous year, adding that some districts generated revenue as low as 17.21 percent of their target and described that as unfortunate.

He charged the MMDCEs to reverse the trend by revamping their locally generated revenue structures citing property rate as one area that had not received the deserved attention even though it was a major potential source of revenue for their Assemblies.

The Northern Regional Minister also observed that, land disputes in the region were increasingly becoming rampant and if measures were not taken immediately to stem the tide, the situation could jeopardize the peace of the region.

He appealed to the various traditional authorities to take advantage of the establishment of the customary lands secretariat under the Land Administration Project (LAP) which has made provision for assistance to be extended to various skins (traditional areas) to establish those secretariats to help define boundaries and document them appropriately.

The success of it, Mr. Ziedent noted, would certainly eliminate disputes over boundaries and also streamline the management of land in the region. He called on the various traditional authorities to take the opportunity provided by LAP to streamline the management of lands in their jurisdictions.

He further hinted on serious deforestation and illegal mining activities in the Nanumba North, Bole and Sawla-Tuna-Kalba Districts which he said were increasingly posing danger in those areas. He advised the respective Assemblies to take charge of the development.

Class Six Pupil in Nanumba North Appeals For A JHS

A class six pupil of Jou Primary School in the Nanumba North District of the Northern Region of Ghana, has appealed to government and non-governmental organizations working in the educational sector to come to the aid of continuing pupils of the community with a Junior High School (JHS).

According to 12 year old Ayisha Abukari, there was no a single JHS in the Jou community, thereby compelling pupils to trek long distances everyday to attend the nearest JHS located 27 kilometres away in Bimbilla township after completing primary six.

Ayisha who could not hide her dreadfulness of soon about to join several of her senior colleagues to trek daily to attend JHS outside Bimbilla, called on government and NGOs like ActionAid-Ghana to help the people of Jou with a JHS.

Speaking to Savannahnews in an interview during a visit to the Nanumba North District, she also appealed to ActionAid to assist school children with solar lamps to enhance their academic performance, because they relied on torchlight for their studies and that was seriously affecting their sights.

“I want Actionaid people to help build a school for us so that we won’t walk far distance to Bimbilla. We spend a lot of money and even become tired; we are in P6 we want to go to JHS the next academic year. ActionAid and Songtaba has helped us a lot that is why am begging them to give us JHS. They give books, teach me how to handle my menses and build primary school and toilet for us” she recalled.

Parents in communities like Bimbilla, Karaga, Juasheiyila and Salinayila all send their wards to the Jou Primary School for their elementary education. But they have to choose between renting accommodation for their wards in Bimbilla town where they can continue with their education after completing primary six or withdrawing them from school.  

Mr. Issahaku Iddrisu, Head-teacher of the Jou Primary School said the school was established in 1989 with a pavilion structure until ActionAid and its local partner Songtaba, provided a 3 unit classroom facility, toilet and office for the staff. 

He explained that, the community was provided with a JHS only on paper, but in reality there was no physical structure for the school. Due to the long distance pupils trek to access JHS education, parents who could afford send their children to stay in the Bimbilla township and school there. 

He disclosed that, poverty sometimes compel parents who could not afford to rent accommodation for their wards in the Bimbila township to withdraw them from school.

Meanwhile, the District Director of Education for the Nanumba South District, Alice Aniwine Nawuri disclosed to this reporter that the district was in deficit of JHS. She indicated that, the GES had established new JHSs across the district but without infrastructure.

She asked community members to build sheds as temporal structures for the schools while the District Assembly mobilized funds to build permanent ones for them. 

In spite of the fact that, the Nanumba North District had been ranked the best on two consecutive times for good performance at the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) level, the GES Director was however not impressed with the standard of education in the area.

Men in Nanumba Districts Recognise Women's Roles

Men in the Nanumba North District of the Northern Region of Ghana have now learned to appreciate the positive role women play in carrying out household chores also referred to as unpaid care work, and pledged henceforth to assist women carryout such responsibilities without any feeling of resentment.

How amazing it would be to see a man abandon his cherished traditional beliefs particularly in an area such as Northern Ghana, to engage in what is clearly defined as ‘women’s work’. This is because, in a typical Northern Ghanaian community, it is considered a taboo for men to assist their women or wives in household chores.

But with the implantation of the “Women's Right to Sustainable Livelihoods”, an initiative by ActionAid-Ghana, an international non-governmental organisation and its local partner Songtaba in the Nanumba North District, aimed at changing the belief that unpaid care work was primarily the responsibility of women and girls, some men were beginning to have a change of both heart and mind.

Mr. Yakubu Abukari, a 40 year old peasant farmer in Nasamba stated in an interview with Savannahnews that, there was the need for men to begin to support women and not to see women’s role as not valuable as men's contribution through paid work and demanded acknowledgment of its value from communities and local leaders.

According to him, it was joy when he was sensitized by the two NGOs to appreciate how important it was to assist his wife in household chores. “When I heard that, it was happiness because I hardly consult my wife when it comes to the sale of my tubers of yam and other farm produce. But now, we plan everything together. I never knew that a man is supposed to help his wife in household chores but when they intervened and taught us the need for men and women to complement each other’s roles because there is no disparity between a man and a woman, hence the need to assist each other has really helped us,” Mr. Abukari testified.

Madam Rukaya Yakubu, a petty trader and house wife, on her part outlined the assistance ActionAid and Songtaba had provided to the Nasamba community. “We were there and they came. We didn’t have money, they told us they want to help us to go into farming, so that we can be farming small small, and they give us money to be doing small small so that we can take care of our children. We were doomed and lacked experience, today the children when they are going to school we get small money for them to go school.” 

Meanwhile, the project had since provided assistance to some 1,796 women in various groupings in land ploughing, seeds, inputs and technical advice to enable them to be economically empowered through farming.

Girl Child Education In Nanumba Districts Improved

Girl child education in the Nanumba North and South Districts of the Northern Region of Ghana has improved, following sterling academic performances chalked by schools in the area as a result of the formation of Girls’ clubs that campaigned against girls abuse and gender inequality.

The formation of the clubs also contributed to the bridging of a yawning gender disparity gap that long existed in the two districts as there is currently increased enrolment and retention of girls in most schools.

International Non-governmental Organisation (NGO) ActionAid Ghana in collaboration with its local partner Songtaba, through several years of hard work had made tremendous contributions towards reducing violence against girls in schools in the districts that led to increase in enrolment of girls in school and also improvement in academic performance.

Speaking to this blogger in an interview, Musah Rukaya, a teacher and Girls’ Club Mentor of the Nasamba Primary School, said the initiative by the two organizations had encouraged many girls in the area to enroll and remain in school.

She explained that, the clubs did not only teach good morals and other forms of socialization, but also educated girls about their rights hence increasing their level of confidence that enabled them to rise up and demand their rights.

Available statistics at the Nasamba Primary School indicated that the number of girls enrolled since 2008 outnumbered the number of boys, a phenomenon that was not common especially in most communities in Northern Ghana.  

In the 2008/2009 academic year, the number of girls enrolled was 195 against 182 boys, but in 2009/2010 the number of girls increased to 219 with that of boys marginally increasing to 211. Also, in the 2012/2013 academic year the number of girls further increased to 234 against 227 boys.

The 28 year old teacher made these revelations to this reporter who was part of a team of journalists in Nasamba in the Nanumba North District during a visit to acquaint themselves with the performance of ActionAid and Songtaba with regards to the implementation of their projects.

The Girls Club concept by the two NGOs was initiated under the Stop Violence Against Girls in School (SVAG) through Community Advocacy Teams (CAT), an intervention that contributed positively to enrolment, improved gender parity, enhanced academic performance and educate girls on their basic human rights and personal upkeep.

Nasamba is 18kilometres from Wulensi and 6kilometres from Bimbila. It shares boundaries with Kabilya to the North, Binda to the South, Graikpe to the East and Banvim to the West. The community is predominantly a farming community with yam and maize being the major crops cultivated. Women in this area engage in petty trading, smallholder farming, shea butter extraction and Dawadawa processing. 

A 12 year-old girl, Fuseni Azara of the Nasamba Primary School, also confirmed to Savannahnews the opportunity offered her through the girls’ club to learn new things at several places she visited. According to her, the club helped her severally to achieve academic laurels through reading which has built her confidence level. “They give us books and teach us how to read. Initially I couldn’t read but through annual girls’ camps and clubs, I can now read well. I benefit from the girls club to learn new things I didn’t know, to see beautiful environment and it will also help you to come and tell your colleagues to learn hard and become somebody in future. All these we had it from ActionAid. They also carry us to several cities so I know a lot of places and people” she narrated. 

Azara said through the Girls’ Camps/Clubs, they were taught how to handle their menstrual cycles to prevent them from being disgraced in public. 

Meanwhile, 13 Girls’ Clubs and CATs had been formed in the Nanumba North and South Districts respectively, to strengthen the capacities of pupils particularly girls to be aware of their rights and defend them when abused.