Wa, May 17, GNA - The Upper West Regional House of Chiefs has appealed to the Jubilee Oil Field Partners to support the implementation of the Savannah Accelerated Development Authority (SADA) instituted by the government for the rapid development of the north.
Naa Sohimininye Danaa Gore II, President of the Regional House of Chiefs, said the government alone would not be able to do it alone, hence the request for assistance from the Jubilee Partners.
He said the request from the Jubilee Partners should be seen as a corporate responsible towards the well being of the people in the north.
Naa Sohimininye Danaa Gore made the appeal at a forum organised for the Upper Regional Coordinating Council, heads of departments and agencies by the Jubilee Partners to deepen their understanding of the operations of the emerging oil industry.
He said people should not misconstrue their request to mean that it was contradicting a similar request made by chiefs from the Western Region.
Naa Sohimininye Danaa Gore said the development gap between the north and the south was huge and vast and that calls for support from all development partners to complement government efforts. "Some people might say we are asking for too much and even going outside the limits but that is not so because our difficulty is an eye disease that everybody can see for himself or herself," he said.
The Regional Coordinating Council also called on government to partner other development partners to utilise the by-products of the oil for the production of fertilizers.
The Council said it would not be in the best interest of Ghanaians should the government allow foreign companies to utilise the by-products of the oil.
The Council also expressed worry about unqualified training institutions claiming they were training the youth for the oil industry and appealed to the government to regulate such institutions.
Dr. Anthony Aubynn, the Director of Corporate Affairs of Tullow Ghana Limited, said training of the youth by unqualified institutions should be of concern to all.
He said such wayside training institutions were heightening the expectations of the youth, promising those undergoing training with jobs and high salaries.