British High Commissioner visits new districts in Upper East

Bolgatanga, Aug. 16, GNA - The British High Commissioner, Mr Gordon Wetherell has paid visits to Tongo and Garu, capital towns of the newly-created Talensi/Nabdam and Garu/Tempane Districts, respectively, in the Upper East Region, as part of a three-day official tour of the Region to acquaint himself with the situation on the ground.

At Tongo, the High Commissioner paid a courtesy call on Tongo-Rana Kwadan-Tii, Paramount Chief of the Talensi Traditional Area, and inspected renovation works on a number of structures, including the local community centre, which is being converted into temporary administrative offices for the new District.

The Tongo-Rana appealed for assistance, and said like a newborn baby, the District needs special attention to enable it to stand on its feet.

En-route to Garu, Mr Wetherell made a stopover at Bawku where he called on Naba Asigri Abugrago Azoka II, Paramount Chief of the Bawku Traditional Area.

Naba Azoka told the High Commissioner that there was "absolute peace" in Bawku, and that the immediate preoccupation of the people was development.

He acknowledged the vital contributions made by Action Aid, a British NGO working in the Bawku and Zebilla areas, towards improving the living standards of the local communities, especially in education, health and agriculture.

He appealed to the High Commissioner to assist in the development of the Tamne Dam into an irrigation facility like that of Tono for sustainable agricultural production.

A durbar of chiefs and people of the new Garu/Tempane district greeted the High Commissioner on his arrival at Garu. Naba Francis Akolwine III, Chief of Tempane, requested for additional facilities to make the new District viable.

He particularly mentioned offices and residential accommodation for staff, markets, feeder roads and clinics in the remote communities to make healthcare more accessible.

Mr Wetherell told the chiefs and people of the two districts that Britain would continue to offer Ghana the needed support to enable the country to achieve her developmental objectives.

He said special relations and goodwill existed between the two countries, which explained why Ghana ranked high on the list of Britain's development partners in Africa.

The High Commissioner was overwhelmed by the enthusiastic reception accorded him in all the areas he visited. He gave the assurance that he would look into the various requests and concerns raised by the people. The Regional Minister, Mr Mahami Salifu, who accompanied Mr Wetherell, called for unity among the people so that they could contribute their quota to the development of the new Districts.

Mr Wetherell's tour took him to Navrongo and Paga in the Kassena-Nankana District, as well as Sandema in the Builsa District.