Nerebehi (Ashanti Region) -- Dr Paa Kwasi Nduom, Minister of Economic Planning and Regional Co-operation, has said that with the initiation of a number of programmes designed to alleviate poverty, the 1,000-dollar per capita income by 2010 declared by the government was achievable.
He said the HIPC initiative had so far yielded good results and the fact that most donor agencies and countries were prepared to assist the government were healthy signs. Dr Nduom was addressing two separate durbars at Nerebehi and Kuntanase as part of his visit to launch and inspect projects of the Ghana Poverty Reduction Project and the Social Investment Fund (SIF) in the Atwima and Bosomtwe-Atwima-Kwanwoma districts in the Ashanti Region.
In the Atwima District 14 projects including nine schools buildings and five income-generating projects under the SIF are to be undertaken at a cost of 2.1bn cedis. The construction of a block of six classrooms with three toilets had begun at Nerebehi at a cost of 650m cedis.
The Bosomtwe-Atwima-Kwanwoma District is the beneficiary of 1.7bn cedis for the execution of 17 projects including 10 schools buildings and the funding of seven income-generating projects.
Dr Nduom said the introduction of the SIF, which was component of the Ghana Poverty Reduction Strategy (GPRS), would help to establish income-generating projects at the district level.
''This will encourage rural dwellers, especially farmers, to stay and work in their villages to increase food production for local consumption and for export.'' He said the government's major agenda was the provision of infrastructure to which the Japanese Government had promised to assist and called on district assemblies to draw up income generating programmes and submit them to the SIF for funding.
''Such projects would be supervised and inspected regularly to ensure that funds are being put to the use for which they were intended.'' Madam Ama Serwaah, Executive Director of SIF, said so far 45 districts had benefited from the fund made available by the African Development Bank (ADB) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
She called on women not to sit idle but to take advantage of the many programmes under the fund. Charles Yeboah and Bright Addai Mununkum, District Chief Executives for Atwima and Bosomtwe Atwima-Kwanwoma respectively, who took the Minister round on his tour, promised to ensure strict supervision of the projects.
Ben Bukari, Minister of State at the National Development Planning Commission, appealed to those who will benefit from the fund to put the money to good use.
