13 Kumbungu communities connected to electricity

Thirteen communities in the Kumbungu District in the Northern Region have been connected to the national grid under the Rural Electrification Project (REP).

The beneficiary communities are Kumbong-Kukuo, Kumbong-Yipelinaayili, Dulizugu, Satani, Zugu-Yipeligu, Zugu-Kushibo, Zugu-Dabogni, Mablo, Kuli, Yuni, Buglang, Voggu-Botingli and Nyerizegu.

The electrification project was funded by the Government of Ghana (GOG).

Inauguration

Inaugurating the project, the District Chief Executive (DCE) for Kumbungu, Mr Abdul Salam Hamza Fataw, said the district assembly would ensure that every community in the district which had no electricity was connected to the national grid by 2020.

He said this was to open up the entire district for the establishment of cottage industries and to also promote commercial activities in the area.

Mr Hamza Fataw said before the electrification project, the assembly had embarked on a sensitisation exercise to sensitise residents of the beneficiary communities on the need to pay their electricity bills promptly to avoid being plunged into darkness again.

Aside sensitising the people to the need to pay their bills promptly, the DCE for Kumbungu said they also engaged the people on the need to use power judiciously.

He said the assembly would continue to embark on development projects in the district to help improve on the living conditions of the people.

Other projects

He expressed satisfaction with the timeliness with which physical infrastructure projects had been delivered to the people.

Indeed, projects such as three classroom blocks each for the Singo District Assembly Junior High School (JHS), Nyerizegu Primary School, and the Kumbungu Girls’ Model JHS had been completed and inaugurated by the assembly and already in use, while a school block for Nawuni Roman Catholic Primary School had also been refurbished by the assembly.

Mr Hamza Fataw said the assembly had also constructed a new Community-based Health Planning Services (CHIPS) compound for the Jegbo community to provide access to health care for the people.

Residents

Women and children of Kumbong-Kukuo, Kumbong-Yipelinaayili and Dulizugu, where the DCE switched on the lights to signify the inauguration of the electrification project, could not hide their joy and excitement as they danced and sang their hearts out.

A resident of one of the communities, Ayesha Ibrahim, told the Daily Graphic in an interview that with electricity now in their community she was going to open a shop to sell water and non-alcoholic beverages to supplement the income of her family.

Mohammed Ibrahim, a student, said it would enable students and pupils in the community to study in the night to enhance their academic performance.