Three northern regions asked to stop insisting that they are poor

Bolgatanga, March 16, GNA - The people of the Upper East, Upper West and Northern Region, (three northern regions), have been asked to stop consistently insisting that they are poor and cannot initiate efforts to improve upon their lives.

Professor Stephen Adei, former Rector of the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA), who made the call, said there were opportunities of wealth creation in those areas and debunked perceptions that they were the poorest regions in the country. He was addressing a symposium on wealth creation and financial management in the family, jointly organized by Shalom Family Foundation and Northern Ghana Missions, all Christian organizations, seeking the welfare of families through strengthened marriages, at Bolgatanga. Prof. Adei stressed that it was possible for the people in the three regions to harness their resources and create wealth if the were committed and determined to do so He said it was wrong to talk about poverty when there were many job opportunities in Ghana.

Prof. Adei, who is the Chief Executive of the Ghana Red Cross Society, explained that the lack of planning, ignorance about job and investment opportunities, pride and refusal to take up certain jobs among others, have contributed to increasing poverty in the country. He said individuals in failed to partner with other people and institutions to come out with the best ideas and models for establishing businesses in the three northern regions. Professor Adei noted that government policies, plans and directions failed to capture the core needs of the people in those areas for development projects to bridge the development gap between northern and southern parts of Ghana. He recommended that Ghanaians should find gainful employment and earn good income, spend less than what one earned, visited the stock and monetary markets to find out transactions there and save constantly a portion of income earned no matter the amount involved. Prof. Adei urged the people to keep to their visions, have positive attitude, initiate achievable strategies and build their spiritual lives to create and maintain wealth.