Don’t build skyscrapers in Tamale and Accra – MCE to natives in diaspora

The Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) of the newly elevated Gushegu Municipal assembly has appealed to natives in the diaspora to bring their investments into the municipality to support its development.

Mr. Musah Issah speaking on Thursday during a ceremony to upgrade the status of the assembly asked residents of the municipality living abroad to stop building factories and “skyscrapers” in urban cities.

Calling them by a traditional title, ‘Maltitiyili nima’, the MCE urged them to be part of the solutions to the numerous national problems and help government in infrastructure expansion and poverty eradication in the area.

“I wish to respectfully encourage those of you in the diaspora to do well and visit home regularly. Please do well to bring all your storey-buildings and Sky-scrappers here; we need to improve our built environment. It is an investment that can be possible only if natives start putting up beautiful houses here instead of in Tamale and Accra,” the first Municipal Chief Executive of the Assembly noted.

However, he acknowledged the challenges of the Municipal Assembly and said authorities will do all they could by doubling their steps to ensure the Assembly square its Municipal status.

According to him, plans were already underway to construct a fire service station, Municipal Court and build more police stations to improve the maintenance of law and order in the area.

Expressing gratitude to the President, Nana Addo Dankwah Akufo-Addo for upgrading the area into a Municipal status, he promised that his office together with the departmental heads will work diligently to create more opportunities for residents to benefit.

“Hon. Deputy Minister, we are happy for the elevation in our status and we know that even though the new status comes with its own benefits, in terms of increase in budgetary allocations and provision of urban and Municipal service, we are conscious of the fact that to whom much is given, much is expected,” said Mr. Musah

Inaugurating the Assembly on behalf of the President, Member of Parliament for the Walewale constituency and Deputy Minister for Agric, Dr Sagri Bambangi, said local governance is an integral part of the President’s vision to transform Ghana beyond aid, and therefore promised government support to the area.

He added government would continue to promote decentralization reforms, as stipulated in the constitution and would help to ensure development gets to citizens in rural communities.

The Gushegu assembly was carved out of the former Eastern Dagomba district several years ago. It is one of the impoverished districts in the Northern Region lacking basic infrastructures.

Youth in the area continue to drift to cities and urban communities in search of jobs. School children still learn under trees and mobility rate is at alarming magnitude due to extremely deplorable health care facilities.

Some citizens in the area cannot afford three square meals and dozens still live under GH¢3 (less than a dollar) daily.

Despite these and other challenges, Chiefs, former DCEs and MPs, clergies, opinion leaders, and members of the public in the area graced the ceremony to elevate the assembly to Municipal status and renewed their support to management of the new assembly.

The chief of Mongo also a former DCE, Mongo-naa Abdulai Alhassan,promised they would be available at all times to offer any assistance to the management of the assembly.