National Volunteer Programme launched in Tamale

Tamale, May 14, GNA - Mr Kwadwo Adjei-Darko, Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, launched the orientation and training programme for development planning personnel of the National Volunteer Programme for the 28 newly created districts in the country on Thursday in Tamale.

In a speech read for him, Mr Adjei-Darko said the initiative formed part of a national policy aimed at bringing governance to the grassroots so that the people could contribute effectively to the establishment of a vibrant and a well resourced decentralized local government system.

He said the creation of the new districts had imposed an additional responsibility on government to provide the requisite workforce for the new administrative areas.

Mr Adjei-Darko urged the personnel to foster good working relations with their superior officers and the people to ensure the success of the programme saying, "the success of the exercise will depend largely on your attitude towards work".

He appealed to district chief executives, traditional rulers, assembly members and other opinion leaders to support the personnel so that they could contribute effectively to the development of the districts.

Alhaji Iddrisu Adam, Tamale Metropolitan Chief Executive, reminded the personnel that as civil servants, they would be governed by rules and regulations and expected to be politically neutral.

He urged them to assist district chief executives who would be appointed to the new districts achieve their objectives, and cautioned that they would all be held responsible for any lapses in the implementation of development programmes.

Alhaji Adam said the chiefs and people cherished the bold initiative of government to create five new districts in the Northern region despite initial problems.

Mr Boniface Gambila, Director of the National Service Secretariat, said the country would save a lot of money from the implementation of the programme.

He said the volunteers would work at both the public and private sectors to promote education, agriculture and health and to assist in ensuring the success of the Presidential Special Initiatives. Mr Gambila said some of the volunteers would be sent to Area Councils throughout the country to assist in the execution of development programmes. The Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development and the National Service Scheme collaborated efforts to initiate the National Volunteer Programme, which sought to mobilize the needed personnel for the smooth take-off of the newly created districts. 14 May 04 Attention recipients, item 02 ends first cast.