Nsoh lauds potential of Upper West Region
The outgone Upper West Regional Minister, Dr Ephraim Avea Nsoh, is confident that with the vast human and natural resources available, the region will see the end of poverty in due course.
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In an interview with the Daily Graphic, he said the region must be ready for vast development strides when the various strategies and interventions he had put in the pipeline during his one year tenure start materialising.
"This beautiful region is endowed with endless opportunities which if harnessed and articulated with modern techniques, can lead to the change we all desire.
But first of all, we need a change of attitude towards work to explore these vast opportunities holistically to our benefit,"he declared.
In his view, "everybody should be seen to be committed in order to explore and exhaust these tremendous resources for our welfare."
Dr Avea Nsoh said he was in constant discussion with the development partners in the region to bridge the gap between the north and the south of the country.
According to the outgone minister, the Black Volta, which stretches for over 140 kilometres across five districts in the region, provides a source for irrigation facilities which will support all-year-round agricultural activities intended for the improvement of the standard of living and conditions of life.
Since this cannot be done in isolation, he revealed that the three northern regions would collaborate with the various development partners to map out comprehensive strategies for the area to eradicate poverty.
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"This is because none of the regions can do it alone," he said.
Dr Nsoh said his tour of the region revealed that almost all the district assemblies were lethargic. “There was massive lateness to duty and absenteeism due to the fact that most of the staff preferred to stay in the big towns and commute daily to duty," he said.
This lackadaisical attitude, he said, affected their output, thus internally generated funds were nothing to write home about, leading to the over-reliance on the District Assemblies Common Fund (DACF) for all their activities. According to Dr Avea Nsoh, should the various district assemblies keep the flame he had lit burning, he is sure that in no time they will overturn their lot and start bridging the yawning gap between the north and the south.
With this re-awakening, values and mental attitude, the minister was sure that officials of the district assemblies could transform their environment, establish better relationships with the outside world and create more job opportunities for their sons and daughters to keep them home instead of embarking on the massive exodus to the south to become “kayayei’’ and engage in other menial jobs.
"To achieve a model region, there is the need for all the municipal and district assemblies to be functioning thereby creating opportunities for all", he said.
In the tourism sector, the region has vast potentials in areas such as the production of guinea fowls, smocks, xylophones, festivals, crocodiles the hippopotamus sanctuary at Wechaou among others that will be harnessed through the provision of infrastructural facilities and social amenities to enhance both foreign and domestic tourism for wealth creation and development,” he stated.
On crime, although the area is generally peaceful, in a bid to be proactive, the Regional Police Command has extended their post to Dobile, Wa Polytechnic junction, Manho and the University of Development Studies (UDS) while plans are far advanced to mount more of these posts within the Municipality and the region as a whole", he said. He was thankful for the proactiveness of the police for the overall peace and low crime-rate. He lamented that galamsey operations in the Nadowli-Kaleo District which was grossly destroying the land surface and polluting the Black Volta posed grave danger to the people since the river was a source of potable water for the people and the Bui hydro-electric dam. He noted that several attempts to stop them had proved futile since the operators quickly escaped before they got to the scene. But education is on-going for them to put a stop to that, he said.
He said the greatest challenge the region faced was the non-attraction of professionals such as doctors, engineers, teachers and others but hoped that with the realisation of the various projects in a few years to come, the gap between them and the south will be greatly reduced.
One of the banes for our economic survival, he identified, was centered around our religious beliefs where we attribute spirituality or witchcraft to all our challenges. He said that with hard work and the tenacity of purpose, we shall rise. ‘’After all, the rural sector holds the greater proportion of the population and resources for our development", he added.
He expressed his gratitude to the chiefs and people of the region for the teamwork and peace accorded him in the discharge of his duties in a bid to tap the vast resources for a better prospect. He further commended the press for the vibrant cooperation and support he had with them and hoped they will extend that to the substantive Minister, Mr Bede Ziedeng, who had taken over from him.