BONABOTO issues communiqu=E9 at the end of fifth annual congress

Bolgatanga, Jan. 5, GNA - Citizens of the Bolgatanga; Nangodi; Bongo and Tongo Areas and environs (BONABONTO) have called on the Government to revamp the sheanut industry in the Northern Regions of Ghana to attract foreign and private sector investment.

This was contained in a communiqu=E9 issued at the end of their fifth National Congress in Bolgatanga on Thursday. The 11-point communiqu=E9 catalogued problems confronting the three Northern Regions and how they could be redressed. It said the Government with the support of other development partners, should endeavour to revamp the existing irrigation dams and dug-outs, and provide more dams for irrigation to ensure food security and better living standards for the people.

The communiqu=E9 also called for fair allocation of projects such as the President's Special Initiatives (PSI) and the completion of uncompleted Government projects in the area.

It further impressed upon the Government to ensure that citizens of the North were equally and fairly represented in public office appointments, especially in State organizations and enterprises. The defunct Tomato Factory at Pwalugu and the Meat Factory at Zuarungu, the communiqu=E9 noted, must be revamped to generate employment and income for the people of the area.

The communiqu=E9 expressed concern about the poor road network in the rural areas and noted that it retarded national development, and appealed to the Government to hasten the tarring and rehabilitation of old roads and to construct new ones linking district capitals and farming areas.

It declared that the British Government owed the North reparation for the damage caused by its Colonial policy of intentionally under-developing the Area. The British Colonial policy was to make the North a source of cheap labour for the South. 5 Jan. 06