Stakeholders asked to continue support for SADA
The acting Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Savannah Accelerated Development Authority (SADA), Mr Charles Abugre, has stressed the need for stakeholders, including chiefs, to support the institution as it undergoes a major transformation aimed at achieving its core mandate stipulated in Act 805 of 2010.
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According to him, although SADA had made mistakes in the past, it should not be considered as a failure, since the institution was still a young one.
He stated this during the third SADA Stakeholder Coordinating Committee (SCC) meeting at Bolgatanga.
The meeting brought together, chiefs, district chief executives, Members of Parliament and planning officers from the three regions of the north and the Brong Ahafo Region.
Mr Abugre intimated that SADA's negative public image regarding the use of public resources and implementation of its existing programmes needed to be addressed.
"As we all know SADA has been in the news in the recent past for all the wrong reasons following a leaked, fairly damning audit management letter," he noted.
The CEO further explained that the new board of directors was "dutifully addressing each and every one of the 30 issues of concern that the authority needed to address in order to bring a closure to them."
He noted that currently SADA was seeking advice on how best to dispose of tractors and the hydrophone machines in a manner that would ensure that they continued to provide service to the people.
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"I think the biggest lesson for SADA is that even though our hearts and minds may have been in the right place, our approach needs revisiting," Mr Abugre observed.
The CEO stressed the need for strategic coordination to ensure that resources coming into the Northern Savannah Ecological Zone (NSEZ) were channelled into the transformational effort.
"Good coordination can provide clear guidance to development partners on priorities and should improve development effectiveness," he noted.
Recommendations
The Upper East Regional Minister, Mr James Tiigah, suggested the construction of dams and dugouts as a flood control mechanism to harvest flood waters during the rainy season.
He explained that "these water reservoirs could be used during the long dry season to provide livelihood opportunities for the peasants and also prevent the youth from drifting to the south in search of non-existent jobs".
He equally called for steps to group vegetable growers into cooperatives and support them with agricultural inputs such as fertilisers, agro-chemicals and improved seeds to enhance production.
Mr Tiigah further advocated the need for SADA to move away from the traditional tree planting approach of reforestation to tree growing with incentive packages to farmers as is being done under the Ghana Social Opportunities Project (GSOP).
According to him, interested farmers could be identified and supported to undertake commercial donkey farming, commercial piggery, guinea fowl production and commercial fish farming in a decentralised manner.
Participants
During an open forum, some of the participants suggested that SADA should be decentralised while others called for an effective public relations outfit to deal with its negative image and enhance information delivery to promote transparency in its operations.
They also suggested the appointment of regional and district coordinators for SADA as a form of decentralising its functions, which they noted were too concentrated in Tamale.
At the meeting the participants agreed to ensure that district assemblies in the NSEZ contribute GH¢5,000 annually to ensure the successful holding of the SCC Meetings.