Bolgatanga Holds People's Assembly

The Upper East Region last year received three billion cedis under the Social Investment Fund (SIF) for disbursement to economically viable groups and small-scale enterprises.

Each of the six districts in the region was also allocated one billion cedis to undertake specific projects under the Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative. The Regional Minister, Mr Mahami Salifu, who said this at the opening of the "Peoples Assembly" in Bolgatanga on Wednesday, indicated that these funds essentially aimed at reducing poverty in the region.

He outlined the region's achievements and said it had chalked successes in agriculture, health, education and infrastructure development. However, there was more room for improvement, especially in the area of education, he added.

The Bolgatanga District Chief Executive Mr Rockson Ayine Bukari, said in line with its educational programme, the assembly spent about 165 million cedis last year, to cater for the needs of students from the district, including those at the tertiary level, teacher training and community health nursing.