BONABOTO holds Congress in Bolgatanga

Bolgatanga, Dec. 29, GNA - The Bolgatanga, Nabdam, Bongo and Tongo Citizens Association (BONABOTO), at the weekend held its annual congress in Bolgatanga with a call on the membership to stay clear of politics so as to give credible meaning to the civil society role the association was meant to play.

The Upper East Regional Minister, Mr. Mahami Salifu, who said this noted that the region was disadvantaged in several ways and could be more endangered if some people would wreck its potentials for their personal benefit.

He said what the region desired now was the opening up of its vast potentials to investors in the crafts, agro-based, garment and mining industries to boost its economic base.

The Minister recalled the region's participation in the Ghana EXPO-2003, held in the United Kingdom and said another invitation had been extended to the region to participate in a similar fair in the United States in March next year.

Mr. Salifu said in response to the President's Special Initiatives (PSI), the Regional Coordinating Council (RCC) was organising a regional forum on possible areas of establishing agro-based industries capable of providing employment for the youth and women.

He said ventures like groundnut and shear butter extraction, large-scale guinea-fowl production among others would be pursued. The Minister condemned Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), tribal markings, widowhood rites and practices that gave rise to single mothers, and charged members of the association to mount educational campaign to eradicate such practices.

Mr. Salifu urged members to educate the people against the misuse of their harvests on funerals and other unimportant social activities, but to invest in the education of their children, especially the girl child.

The National Chairman of the Association, Mr. Vitus Azeem, condemned the slow pace at which members were contributing to an Educational Endowment Fund set up by the Association and said the practice where members only emphasised the funding of their children would continue to widen the social gap.

The Bolgatanga and Bongo District Chief Executives Mr Rockson Ayine Bukari and Mr Clement Apikiya, took turns to address the members on the achievements and plans for their various districts.

According to Mr. Bukari the Assembly had put up the needed infrastructure and development interventions through education, health and water and sanitation to ensure that the people enjoyed a good standard of living.

Mr. Apikiya said one major achievement credited to the NPP government was the tarring of the 15-kilometre Bongo-Bolgatanga road.