Amend short falls - Aliu tells Dagaabas and Frafras

Accra, Sept 4, GNA - The Vice-President, Alhaji Aliu Mahama, on Saturday urged the Dagaabas and Frafras to identify areas they have fallen short and make amends.

This was contained in an address read on his behalf by the Minister for Manpower and MP for Navrongo Central, Mr Joseph Adda, at the 10th annual Dagaaba/Frafra Friendly Games at the El Wak Sports Stadium, in Accra.

Alhaji Aliu Mahama called on them to ensure that the objectives of the event were achieved for the benefit of the two communities in an address read by Mr Joseph Adda, Minister for Manpower and MP for the Navrongo Central, on behalf of the Vice-President. The Vice-President urged other ethnic communities in the country to emulate the example of the Dagaabas and the Frafras to engender national unity.

Alhaji Aliu Mahama called on the two groups to take advantage of the friendship existing between them to address problems confronting them.

He charged them to identify projects to eliminate hunger, disease and poverty in their areas and to mobilise resources to help their brothers and sisters.

The Vice-President noted that the three northern regions had been identified as the poorest in the country and called on Dagaabas and Frafras to assist students from the area who had gained admission to the tertiary institutions to solve the accommodation problem facing them. He asked them to contribute to build hostels for the students through the Northern Education Fund (NEFUND). Vice-President Aliu Mahama presented two million cedis towards the 10th anniversary of the friendly Games while Mr Adda also contributed five hundred thousand cedis.

The two ethnic groups competed in six different games that was won by the Frafras.

The events included a 100-metres race for boys, with the Frafras taking the first and second positions.

In the event for girls, the Frafras also took the first position while the Dagaabas took the second place. The Frafras who also took the Tug-of-War for Men and Women won the youth soccer match 3-2.

They also won the Women's Soccer 3-1, the match for Senior Citizens, 1-0 and the Under-15 Soccer 1-0. The Frafras who were the last year's champions also emerged as winners, however, due to the 10th anniversary, the games were declared as non-scoring.

Two brown puppies decorated with yellow and green ribbons were presented to the two groups. Both the men and women groups who competed in the games were presented with trophies to commemorate the anniversary. Nestle Ghana, Kasapreko, Coca Cola, Accra Brewery and Koala Stores sponsored the games.

The Ghana Armed Forces provided ambulance services for the injured. 04 Sept 05